Family forced to raise money for son's treatment

A teenager from Guernsey battling a rare and life threatening blood disorder has been told by Guernsey's Health Department that treatment recommended by his doctors won't be funded.

17-year-old Jonah Gillingham was diagnosed with Leukaemia in 2014 and underwent a bone marrow transplant.

Now in remission, he has been told he has another life-threatening disease.

Jonah has Atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a disease which effects the vital organs.

His doctors recommend the drug Eculizumab, one of the most expensive drugs in the world, costing around £300,000 a year.

HSSD agreed to pay for 12 weeks of life-saving treatment for Jonah, but say the use of the drug for his condition is unproven and too expensive.

His family says they have no choice but to raise the money themselves.

So far, the family have managed to raise around £5,700 of the total via a JustGiving page.

HSSD has said it has to make 'difficult choices' because there is more demand for treatments than the department can afford.

To find out more about efforts to raise money for Jonah, click here to visit the Facebook page.

Jonah has also made a video blog on Youtube, documenting his journey.