How plasma gave Daniel his strength back

Wellington teenager Daniel should have been in trade school today, following in the footsteps of his builder dad.

But instead, the 17-year-old is at home, recovering from his latest round of treatments for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIPD).

A rare autoimmune disorder, CIPD affects the myelin sheath around the peripheral nerves and causes muscle weakness, particularly in limbs and extremities.

Daniel was first diagnosed with the condition in December 2025. He’d been helping his dad build a deck and he recalls noticing a sudden deterioration in his strength.

“It was quite sudden,” he says. “I was working with my hands a lot over that summer. Then one day I woke up and I wasn’t feeling well. Soon, I couldn’t even swing a hammer.”

Daniel had to leave school in his final year, while his mother took time off work so she could be alongside him and keep him supported while he went in and out of hospital.

The first treatment he received was intravenous immunoglobin (IVIg), a plasma-derived treatment that targets inflammation and supports the immune system.

For many patients this treatment successfully addresses the root causes of CIPD and supports recovery but, unfortunately, Daniel didn’t experience lasting relief with this intervention. As his strength began to fade again and his limbs grew weaker, he had to return to hospital.

Then, in March this year, a neurologist recommended therapeutic plasma exchange.

This is an apheresis procedure performed by NZBS's therapeutic services team where we remove harmful plasma and replace it with products derived from donated plasma.

As Daniel began to receive twice-weekly plasma exchanges, he and his family grew familiar with the NZBS therapeutics nurses who administer these services.

“The NZBS nurses are amazing,” says Daniel’s mother Lesley. “We’ve gotten to know them well, and we’re deeply appreciative of the service they provide.

“They’ve been so welcoming, and they know exactly what they’re doing, so there’s no hesitation in asking them questions.”

As the treatment began to stabilise Daniel’s condition, he was discharged from hospital.

He has now regained most of the strength in his lower limbs, while his upper limbs are still at less than half their usual strength. The ongoing plasma exchanges help maintain him at this level, ensuring he does not regress any further.

This is tremendous progress compared to the lows he experienced only months ago, but the journey isn’t over yet.

Daniel is now going through chemotherapy, which he hopes will cull the harmful antibodies in his body and let him resume his life – and pick up where he left off with trade school.

“I have to wait and see what might come,” he says. “I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

The experience has certainly left its mark on the entire family, but not every change has been for the worse.

Lesley says she and her husband have both been inspired to donate plasma after seeing the positive impact treatments have had on Daniel.

"I have a connection to it now with Daniel receiving those treatments twice-weekly,” she tells us. “I’ve seen the good it does, and I want to be a part of that.”

She’s gone from barely knowing about plasma donation to being a passionate advocate for the cause – and when our new donor centre opens in Porirua, she’s excited to donate there too.