Sergeant Andrew Kleef (Air Force)
Until November last year, SGT Andrew Kleef, of 81WG, had never donated blood.
This year, SGT Kleef is Air Force’s blood challenge ambassador and says it has provided him with an opportunity to help educate and encourage people to donate blood.
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“I can do this by sharing my family’s story about how much it has helped us and made a difference to our lives,” he said.
“I had not even thought about donating until November last year.
“I didn’t understand how many uses blood had and how many people it helped and the lives it saved.”
SGT Kleef said when he and his wife Tracy decided to have children they discovered they would need to use in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).
“It took eight attempts to conceive our first child, Mitchell, and three for Nathan,” he said.
“Nathan was diagnosed in August 2011 with X-linked hyper IgM syndrome which is a primary immune deficiency.
“He was only 13 months old.”
X-linked hyper IgM syndrome is a condition that affects the immune system and occurs exclusively in males, affecting one in 500,000 children.
Individuals with the syndrome begin to develop frequent infections in infancy and early childhood.
Without treatment, this condition can result in death during childhood or adolescence.
People with the syndrome have abnormal levels of proteins called antibodies or immunoglobulin.
Antibodies help protect the body against infection by attaching to specific foreign particles and germs, marking them for destruction.
SGT Kleef said Nathan’s body did not produce the immunoglobulin he needed to be able to fight bacterial infections.
“These infections include pneumonia, chest and ear infections. And if he drinks water containing cryptosporidium he can get an intestinal infection,” he said.
The treatment for immune deficiency has come a long way. Immunoglobulin boosts the immune system and helps provide a normal balance of antibodies to fight infections.
Before these procedures existed patients were like the ‘Bubble Boy’ and had to live in a sterile environment to avoid the possibility of infections.
Patients are highly prone to lung and liver damage, and even 10 years ago, life expectancy was dramatically reduced with a large percentage of people with an immune deficiency dying before they were 25.
SGT Kleef said before Nathan was diagnosed he suffered from chest infections and an abscess in his groin and ulcers in his mouth and throat. “He was at a point where he stopped eating and drinking,” he said.
“We decided to take him to the John Hunter Emergency Department in Newcastle where the doctors realised they were dealing with a rare case history. It took them six days to identify the problem.
“Initially, Tracy and I thought a solution would involve minor treatment then everything would be fine.
“It turned out to be a bit more complicated, and very serious.”
Nathan now receives a blood product called intravenous immunoglobulin, which is taken from whole blood or plasma donations.
Intravenous immunoglobulin contains the pooled, immunoglobulin antibody extracted from the plasma of more than 1000 blood donors.
Immunoglobulin is absorbed by the body, so every month Nathan requires a top up, which until recently meant regular trips to hospital.
The Kleef family have a new delivery system and are able to do the top up at home.
“Once his treatment was balanced, which took a few months, he become a typical, completely healthy kid. He’s very happy,” SGT Kleef said
“He’s a funny kid with a lot of character, a bit cheeky and has to play with whatever his brother is playing with – he actually gets sick less than Mitchell – it’s just amazing for us now.
“We can take him everywhere and don’t have to worry about him catching germs at the shops or on the swings and slides at the public playground. It’s been a life-changer.”
A bone marrow transplant offers a full cure for X-linked hyper IgM syndrome by essentially replacing the immune system.
SGT Kleef and Tracy were tested and found not to be donor matches though Mitchell was a 5/6 match in the first round of testing. “If Nathan stays healthy, the doctors have suggested we wait until he is around five before we attempt the transplant,” he said.
The work being done at RAAF Base Williamtown by the base blood service coordinator, Samuel Hays, has increased the base blood donation rate from 120 to 280 donors a quarter.
SGT Kleef said he would like to help other bases achieve similar success by using a comparable system to improve blood donations.
“We need base coordinators and ideally unit coordinators under them to encourage volunteers and take it to the next level,” he said.
“Statistics have shown units which have a coordinator have a donor participation rate of 9.3 per cent while units without have a rate of 1.8 per cent.
“It makes a bigger impact when people take on the role to promote the blood service and this can be done by hanging posters or distributing flyers and sharing e-mails explaining why blood donations are important.”