Leukemia puts family in tonch

Press, 23 November 1988, Page 3

Leukemia puts family in tonch

PA Nelson Leukemia has ironically given a Nelson man his first and probably only chance to see his dying father. Barry McKay, aged 30, was adopted out as a three-month-old baby and only discovered he had birth parents and sisters living in Otago when he developed leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant in May.

Bone marrow transplants can only come from blooded family members. With the help of the Social Welfare Department, Mr McKay tracked down the family he hadn’t realised he had. Now with $lBOO worth of airfares from Mount Cook Airline, Mr McKay and his family leave Nelson on Thursday for 12 days with his Otago family. In May, one of Mr McKay’s three full sisters, Melanie, aged 24, was able to do more than just meet her brother — she helped save his life. The success of the bone marrow transplant and Mr McKay’s joy at meeting his sisters was tempered by sadness at learning his father was dying of an incurable disease. Mr McKay’s father does not have long to live and the two probably would not have had a chance to meet without Mount Cook’s help.