MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES

That this House recognises that myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of blood disorders affecting approximately 10,000 people in the UK in which around one third of cases progress to acute leukaemia, and that more than 90 per cent. of patients are over the age of 50 when they are diagnosed; notes that there is a lack of awareness of MDS by the public, Parliament and non-specialist healthcare professionals; welcomes the work of the MDS UK Patient Support Group in raising the profile of the conditions and in providing support to patients; calls for continued progress to be made in the diagnosis and treatment of MDS patients across the UK to minimise regional inequality of access to essential, specialist treatment and care through the NHS; calls for clinically effective pharmaceutical interventions to be made available to patients; and recommends that updated national guidelines for treatment are developed.