Today marks a significant milestone for the Crohn’s MAP Vaccine project. First though, we would like to say a huge thank-you to all of the supporters who have given their time and donated money and to all of the Heroes who have become an integral part of the fund raising team. Without your help and dedication there would be no MAP Test and no progress towards trialling the Crohn’s MAP Vaccine. Every one of you has played a part in getting the project to this stage. Now, we have the chance to show you what goes on behind the scenes, where some of that money has been spent and how this is making a real difference.
Getting Tested
Today I was lucky to be at the front of the queue when testing began on the core team of supporters and CMV Heroes. I am fortunate that my wife is a doctor, so she was able to take a sample of my blood at home this morning. After the usual morning routine of dropping the kids at school I headed up to Waterloo to King’s College London to hand over my fresh samples to Prof John Hermon-Taylor. It’s over a year since I last visited the lab, so it was great to see progress and meet the lab technician who would be running the tests. Looking round the lab made me late for work, but it was worth it.
Earlier in the year, the flow cytometer, an essential part of the MAP blood test, broke down and could not be repaired. A replacement was needed and after digging deep, the funds were raised, potential new machines were evaluated and a new machine from Beckman Coulter was purchased. Technology moves forward quickly and in the ten years since the previous flow cytometer was purchased, many things have improved. This is great news for the MAP blood test as results are now being seen with greater detail and accuracy than ever before. The new machine also can be simply upgraded to add, for example, new laser “colours”, so there is potential for further enhancements.
Now, I await my results. In the coming weeks more members of the team will be tested, so stay posted for further updates.