A man who was paralysed by a rare autoimmune disorder is encouraging more people to donate plasma after receiving life-saving treatment.
Tony Newitt, 71, from Alcester in Warwickshire, was diagnosed last year with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare condition that is thought to be caused by an over-reaction of the immune system.
He was taken to University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, where he received two treatments derived from donated plasma, which he described as “liquid gold”.
Newitt said he was told he was unlikely to walk again, but he defied the odds and walked out of hospital in October and said the treatments were the “only reason” he has been able to begin to rebuild his life.
His diagnosis with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) came not long after he had completed treatment for bowel and liver cancer.
In March 2025, weeks after his last chemotherapy session, he collapsed at home putting the bins out.
His daughter, Lauren Marshall, said: “It was just like somebody had flipped the switch and he just had lost all use of his body.”
Doctors were eventually able to confirm it was GBS, which damages nerves that carry messages from the central nervous system around the body.
The condition affects about 1,300 people a year in the UK, with symptoms including numbness, pins and needles and muscle weakness.