300 pints of blood that might kill me

A battling dad who received 300 pints of blood to save his life has been told he must now have a lot of it transfused back out or it could kill him.

Brian Coupland endured blood transfusions equivalent to every drop from 30 full-grown men as he battled deadly leukaemia.

Brave Brian, a dad-of-two from Carlisle, survived the gruelling 14-week daily chemotherapy and transfusion ordeal to beat the disease into remission. But the 42-year-old delivery driver has been told by worried medics he has dangerously high levels of iron in his blood, which, if left untreated, will cause deadly diseases.

Now he is braced for another gruelling transfusion regime but this time to take the blood back out.

He said: “Because I had so many transfusions, I have too much iron in my red blood cells, so instead of giving me blood I need it taken off me. If I didn’t it could cause heart failure, pancreatic cancer or diabetes.

“I have to start having it taken off quickly due to the ferritin levels. It is one thing after another.”

In April 2011 Brian discovered he had leukaemia, a benign brain tumor and had suffered a brain haemorrhage after his optician spotted an abnormality during an eye test. The optician recommended he had urgent tests which later revealed his life was at risk. GPs had previously failed to recognise the gravity of his complaints about being tired, while he survived on a diet of paracetamol and energy drinks.

A year later he was placed into remission from the leukaemia and the tumor in his head had also shrunk as a result of the intensive chemotherapy.

Brian, who has been supported throughout his battle by partner Susanne, 45, and children Tony, 15, and 13-year-old Megan, is now dreaming of becoming strong enough to get back to work.

But the memory of how close he came to death, after visits to GPs on two occasions did not give rise to concerns, remains fresh in his mind.

He said: “They said there was nothing the matter. I saw the second one and said I went to the gym, walked and went cycling but was feeling weak and tired. I was taking vitamin tablets, drinking Lucozade and eating bananas but nothing was working.

“It was the guy at Specsavers who suggested getting bloods taken and that was it.”

While Brian is still battling the after-effects of the aggressive treatment regime, including low testosterone levels, he also admits to being baffled by an unforeseen change in his appearance.

He added: “I used to have blond hair but when it gets longer now it is dark. My hair fell out during the chemo and when it grew back it was dark brown.

“I always keep my hair short anyway but when I am being lazy and don’t shave, it comes back almost black. My mum says it doesn’t look right.”