News Story

A man who was paralysed from the neck down by a rare autoimmune disorder defied doctors by “proudly” walking out of hospital following life-saving plasma treatment.

Cancer survivor Tony Newitt feared he would never get to meet his grandchild after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) last year.

The 71-year-old, from Alcester in Warwickshire, is now urging more people to donate plasma after telling his family the treatments are the “only reason” he has been able to begin to rebuild his life.

His daughter Lauren Marshall also hailed plasma as “liquid gold” and is now a regular donor herself.

Mr Newitt was diagnosed with bowel and liver cancer in 2024, and, after intense treatment, scans showed no signs of the disease.

However, in March 2025, weeks after his last chemotherapy session, he collapsed at home putting the bins out.

Medics were initially baffled by what could have caused Mr Newitt’s condition.

Ms Marshall, 37, who was pregnant with her daughter Isabelle at the time, said: “The staff in hospital didn’t know what had happened because it was just like somebody had flipped the switch and he just had lost all use of his body.

“We all thought it might be brain cancer pushing on a particular part of his brain and causing him to not be able to use his legs. It was all very scary.”

Mr Newitt’s oncologist eventually suggested he may have GBS, which was confirmed by a lumbar puncture.

GBS is a rare condition that is thought to be caused by an over-reaction of the immune system.

It damages the peripheral nerves, the network that carries messages from the central nervous system around the body.

The condition affects around 1,300 people a year in the UK, with symptoms such as numbness, pins and needles and muscle weakness developing rapidly.

Following his diagnosis, Mr Newitt was transferred to a neurological ward at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, where he had two key treatments  intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and therapeutic plasma exchange, both of which are derived from donated plasma.

Mr Newitt said: “There were times when I honestly thought that my grandchild was going to be my replacement.

“I genuinely didn’t think that my condition could deteriorate any further and get any worse.

“Before I received the IVIG and the plasma exchange, everything in my body was affected, apart from my cognitive abilities.”

Over 10 days, Mr Newitt had five IVIG infusions and five plasma exchanges.

His symptoms stabilised within days and he was able to begin extensive physiotherapy.

Despite being told it was unlikely he would ever walk again, Mr Newitt walked out of Leamington Rehab Hospital in October.

He said: “I proudly walked out of hospital following a long six-month stay.

“It was truly something I will never forget. Due to my age and the spread of the GBS, my prognosis for recovery was not great.

“I was told I may never walk again. I categorically disagreed and told the doctors that I would walk again, and that when I did, I would do it in a tutu  and so I did!”

Mr Newitt now exercises daily at home and in April was able to go on his first family holiday abroad in three years.

He and Ms Marshall are now urging more people to consider donating plasma.

Mr Newitt said: “Without donors, many people’s recoveries would not be possible.

“People often think blood donations are only needed in emergencies, but blood and plasma also help people facing serious illnesses and long recoveries like mine.

“I encourage everyone who is eligible to consider donating, and I would also like to thank everyone who already does. Their plasma makes essential life-saving medicines.”

According to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), more than 3,200 patients have had immunoglobulin medicines made from UK-donated plasma since March.

It comes five years after a ban on the use of UK plasma was lifted.

The ban was brought in in 1998 due to concerns over Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or mad cow disease.

The UK now meets 23% of NHS immunoglobulin demand, but still relies on imports, primarily from the US.

NHSBT is hoping to boost the figure to 35% by 2030.

Ms Marshall, who has been a blood donor for two decades after losing a close friend in a car accident, switched to donating plasma after her father’s experience.

She said: “My dad categorically said that the plasma that he received was the only reason he was able to leave hospital and begin to rebuild his life.

“He says it was the ‘liquid gold’ that gave him his life back. It is so important to highlight that no level of effort and no amount of physio would have made his recovery possible without the plasma treatments.”

Gerry Gogarty, director of blood supply at NHSBT, said: “Behind every litre of plasma collected, there are patients and families whose lives depend on these medicines being available when they need them most.

“We have made remarkable progress, with over 825,000 litres of UK plasma collected and thousands of patients treated. But at 23% self-sufficiency for immunoglobulin, we still have a significant way to go.

“The majority of plasma medicines are still imported, and if that supply is ever disrupted, patients can go without treatments they absolutely rely on.”

Plasma can be donated at three specialist donor centres in Birmingham, Reading and Twickenham.

The process takes just over an hour and donors can give plasma as frequently as every two weeks.