Royal Liverpool lead the way in fighting rare illness

Doctors at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital are leading the fight against a life-threatening disorder.

They are now a regional centre for TTP - a condition that causes clots to form in blood vessels throughout the body, damaging vital organs such as the brain, heart and kidneys and without urgent treatment, the risk of dying is up to 90%.

The only treatment which can reduce the risk is plasma exchange - the replacement of a patient's circulating blood with fresh plasma. But TTP is so rare that when people suffer from symptoms, including hallucinations, bizarre behaviour, and jaundiced skin. Mel Barham has more: