It is extremely difficult to find compatible bone marrow for blood cancer patients. Even if you find it, there is still a chance that it could be rejected in a transplant. What this means for the patient is that the recovery and treatment process will inevitable be prolonged. Leung Hung Kin's own experience reflects this. After his bone marrow transplant, rejections occurred, and while he was still extremely weak, he insisted on sharing his case with us so he could help other blood cancer patients:

I had the bone marrow transplant operation three years ago, my sister donated the bone marrow to me, but unfortunately rejections occurred in both my lungs and my skin. My immune system has weakened since then and I now go to the hospital quite often…I'm told that it could be a long, long time before I fully recover.

To improve the life of leukaemia patients, I would suggest setting up an inquiry hotline and/or publishing a simple brochure to answer common questions pertaining to blood cancer. Routine matters such as special diets, medicinal side effects, etc, can all be addressed through these vehicles for communication. By doing so, patients' minor problems can be solved, sparing our worries and the burden of the medical staff at the same time.

Psychological comfort is also very important to leukaemia patients. It would be a good idea to have a common room for the patients to stop by for a chat and to share their experiences and support for each other. Patients who are scheduled for bone marrow transplants usually have to stay in the hospital for around six weeks for their health examination, so it would be nice to install more TV channels to break up the monotony.

Lastly, I think most of the patients would like to know more about the latest developments in medical treatment and prescription details. At the moment, we can only receive standard medical treatment. It would be ideal if patients were informed of new medical developments and alternative treatments.