Northern Ireland

Alan McDonald: Family of Co Down man battling rare disease in New Zealand 'overwhelmed' by support

Alan McDonald with his sister Anna. Picture from Anna McDonald
Alan McDonald with his sister Anna. Picture from Anna McDonald Alan McDonald with his sister Anna. Picture from Anna McDonald

THE family of a Co Down man battling a rare and life-threatening condition in New Zealand have said they are "overwhelmed" by the support he has received.

Alan McDonald (32), from Newcastle, was recently diagnosed with Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), a rare kidney disease.

He had been unwell for several months but his health deteriorated two weeks ago.

Mr McDonald, who lives in Christchurch with his fiancée Sophie Peters, needs urgent hospital care before his mother Geraldine, father Davy and sister Anna can even consider flying him home.

Anna McDonald (30), whose husband is Down footballer Conor Poland, said the family are hugely thankful that he can begin drug treatment within a couple of weeks, thanks to the tens of thousands of pounds already raised for his treatment.

The family has set a target of £90,000 but Ms McDonald said they do not know how much the overall treatment will cost.

The drug he needs will cost more than £10,000 per dose.

He will also need medical support to travel on a long-haul flight back to Northern Ireland.

Ms McDonald said the family "were at rock bottom" last week due to Alan's condition.

"On Monday he had some dialysis which seems to have helped," she said.

"He's slowly coming round to a better place physically. We can't wait to get him started on the drug."

She said she set up a fundraising page on Friday "out of desperation".

"We knew we had to do something," she said.

"My mum is bursting to get to Alan's beside but the borders are still closed.

"Never in a million years did we think the fundraising would take off in the way it did.

"The messages of encouragement we have got from all over the world have been so helpful."

She added that when the fundraising total hit £45,000 "it was a turning point".

"He just broke down," she said.

"He couldn't believe people at home were willing to do what they have done for him.

"He started to slowly improve at that stage."

Ms McDonald said her brother is her "best friend" and has a "real zest for life".

"Our Alan is so well-liked," she said.

"Anyone who meets him just falls in love with him because he's such a great guy. All of this support is a true testament to him.

"He's just the best brother. Alan and I are really close. There's only two years between us.

"When he moved to New Zealand I was devastated. We miss him all the time.

"I got married in December and he couldn't get home because of the pandemic. We were distraught about that.

"That's just shrunk into insignificance now. We just want him to be healthy."

Mr McDonald's mother Geraldine McDonald said his family just want him home.

"He is the best son you could ask for, he is so loving and would be the first to offer help to someone in need," he said.

"We just want to get him back to Newcastle as soon as we can, where he can be with his family again and receive the treatment and care that he needs."

To donate money to Mr McDonald's care visit: gofundme.com/f/HelpGetAlanTreatment.