A man who was paralysed from the neck down by a rare autoimmune disorder defied doctors by “proudly” walking out of hospital following life-saving plasma treatment.
Cancer survivor Tony Newitt feared he would never get to meet his grandchild after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) last year.
The 71-year-old, from Alcester in Warwickshire, is now urging more people to donate plasma after telling his family the treatments are the “only reason” he has been able to begin to rebuild his life.
His daughter Lauren Marshall also hailed plasma as “liquid gold” and is now a regular donor herself.
Mr Newitt was diagnosed with bowel and liver cancer in 2024, and, after intense treatment, scans showed no signs of the disease.
However, in March 2025, weeks after his last chemotherapy session, he collapsed at home putting the bins out.
Medics were initially baffled by what could have caused Mr Newitt’s condition.
Ms Marshall, 37, who was pregnant with her daughter Isabelle at the time, said: “The staff in hospital didn’t know what had happened because it was just like somebody had flipped the switch and he just had lost all use of his body.
“We all thought it might be brain cancer pushing on a particular part of his brain and causing him to not be able to use his legs. It was all very scary.”
Mr Newitt’s oncologist eventually suggested he may have GBS, which was confirmed by a lumbar puncture.
GBS is a rare condition that is thought to be caused by an overreaction of the immune system.
It damages the peripheral nerves, the network that carries messages from the central nervous system around the body.
The condition affects around 1,300 people a year in the UK, with symptoms such as numbness, pins and needles and muscle weakness developing rapidly.
Following his diagnosis, Mr Newitt was transferred to a neurological ward at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, where he had two key treatments – intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and therapeutic plasma exchange, both of which are derived from donated plasma.
Mr Newitt said: “There were times when I honestly thought that my grandchild was going to be my replacement.”
Over 10 days, Mr Newitt had five IVIG infusions and five plasma exchanges.
His symptoms stabilised within days, and he was able to begin extensive physiotherapy.
Despite being told it was unlikely he would ever walk again, Mr Newitt walked out of Leamington Rehab Hospital in October.
Mr Newitt now exercises daily at home and in April was able to go on his first family holiday abroad in three years.
He and Ms Marshall are now urging more people to consider donating plasma.
According to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), more than 3,200 patients have had immunoglobulin medicines made from UK-donated plasma since March.
It comes five years after a ban on the use of UK plasma was lifted.
The ban was brought in in 1998 due to concerns over Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or mad cow disease.
The UK now meets 23% of NHS immunoglobulin demand, but still relies on imports, primarily from the US.
NHSBT is hoping to boost the figure to 35% by 2030.
Ms Marshall, who has been a blood donor for two decades after losing a close friend in a car accident, switched to donating plasma after her father’s experience.
She said: “My dad categorically said that the plasma that he received was the only reason he was able to leave hospital and begin to rebuild his life.
“He says it was the ‘liquid gold’ that gave him his life back.”
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