Northern Ireland

Tributes paid to Josh Fletcher (18) after Co Down car crash

Josh Fletcher
Josh Fletcher Josh Fletcher

AN 18-year-old engineering student who died after his car collided with a cow, was the first person in the UK to have a 'saviour sibling' conceived to help treat an incurable childhood blood condition.

Josh Fletcher was pronounced dead at the scene after the impact from the collision saw his car leave Lisburn Road outside Moira, Co Down between the Moyrusk and Bushfield Road junctions.

UUP councillor Jim Dillon, a farmer who lives not far from the crash site, said it is "a tragedy".

His parents Julie and Joe Fletcher both changed their profile pictures to one of Josh on Facebook where friends expressed devastation at the tragic news and loss of "a truly beautiful young man inside and out".

One told Mrs Fletcher she was "so so sorry for the loss of your beautiful son, after everything you have all been through to help Josh’s fight for his health, this news is totally heartbreaking".

In 2005, she had become the first woman to give birth to a 'saviour sibling' conceived in the UK - her daughter Jodie.

The previous September, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) granted the couple permission to have a tissue-matched baby to help treat then three-year-old Joshua's Diamond Blackfan anaemia (DBA).

Having failed to find a suitable existing donor, his parents applied to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to conceive an IVF baby who would be able to provide Joshua with compatible umbilical cord blood cells which they hoped could allow his body to produce its own healthy red blood cells.

Following successful treatment at the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in London, Mrs Fletcher gave birth and the cells were collected but doctors had to wait at least another six months to find out if his sister was also affected by DBA.

Mr Fletcher told BioNews at the time: "The thought of having a Joshua who doesn't have DBA fills me with joy. It's like someone telling you that in 12 months you are going to win the lottery."

Mrs Fletcher said Jodie was "just as important for herself... she is another baby in our family, one we wanted anyway."

Friends said Josh underwent a bone marrow transplant from his sister in London in 2010, taking almost 10 months to recover and return home, but since then had been able to "live life to the full" and in the last decade has only needed yearly check-ups at the hospital.