FUJITSU HEAT PUMPS, PROUDLY BRINGING YOU TONIGHT'S 3D. KIA ORA, GOOD EVENING. TONIGHT, WHY SOME NZERS HAVE A TERRIBLE REACTION TO ANAESTHETICS. PEOPLE WHO GO INTO SURGERY AND NEVER COME OUT. BUT FIRST, CONTROVERSIAL MEDICAL DEVELOPMENT THAT ALLOWS CANCER PATIENTS TO KEEP ALIVE THEIR HOPES OF HAVING A FAMILY. YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT THE FREEZING OF EGGS AND SPERM, BUT THIS IS A WHOLE NEW LEVEL. DOCTORS CAN NOW REMOVE AND FREEZE PARTS OF AN OVARY AND THEN LATER TRANSPLANT THEM BACK INTO THE BODY, SO ANY WOMAN, OR EVEN A YOUNG GIRL, WHO SUFFERS CANCER AND SURVIVES CAN GO ON TO HAVE BABIES. MICHAEL MORRAH HAS THE STORY. WHAT DID YOU DO AT SCHOOL TODAY, KARA? UH, WRITING... IN THAT BOOK? ...MATHS... MEET SHYLO HARRISON ` PROFESSIONAL CHILD CARER AND CANCER SURVIVOR FROM NORTHLAND'S MANGAWHAI. WHAT ABOUT YOU, KARA? DID YOU DO ANY WRITING TODAY? FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS SHE'S BEEN A NANNY FOR KARA, TARYN AND BRAYDEN. < YOU'RE GOOD WITH CHILDREN? YEP. YEAH, I LIKE CHILDREN A LOT. SANDWICHES WITH NUTELLA? OH, OK. BEFORE SHE TURNED HER ATTENTION TO A CAREER IN CHILDCARE, HOWEVER, SHYLO ENDURED THE UNTHINKABLE AT THE AGE OF JUST 17 WHEN DOCTORS FOUND SHE HAD A BRAIN TUMOUR. AND THEN TWO WEEKS LATER WHEN WE GOT THE BIOPSY RESULTS, UM, THEY SAID THAT I HAD STAGE FOUR CANCER, AND, YEAH, I HAD TO START TREATMENT AND MY HAIR WAS GOING TO FALL OUT, WHICH WAS THE WORST THING FOR ME, A 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL. I BALLED MY EYES OUT WHEN I FOUND OUT MY HAIR WOULD FALL OUT, THE GOLF-BALL SIZED TUMOUR IN SHYLO'S HEAD WAS IMMEDIATELY REMOVED. BUT LIKE IN MANY CANCER CASES, THE CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIATION TO COME WOULD LIKELY KILL OFF ALL HER EGGS, LEAVING HER INFERTILE. BUT THIS IS WHEN THE FORESIGHT OF HER DOCTORS REALLY COUNTED. EVEN THOUGH THE IDEA OF FREEZING OVARIAN TISSUE WAS SO NEW, THEY SUGGESTED SHYLO DO IT. I KNEW IT WAS ALL REALLY EXPERIMENTAL, AND THAT, WE WEREN'T` I DIDN'T KNOW IF I COULD HAVE A CHILD ANYWAY. BUT IF THERE WAS A CHANCE, THEN I DEFINITELY WANTED TO TAKE THAT CHANCE AND HAVE THE SURGERY BECAUSE ONE DAY I WOULD WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE I LOVE KIDS. < SO THIS IS THE STORAGE ROOM? YEAH. THIS IS WHERE WE KEEP FROZEN SPERM, FROZEN EMBRYOS AND` AND OVARIES. AND THIS IS WHERE SHYLO'S OVARIAN TISSUE HAS BEEN EVER SINCE, LOCKED INSIDE A FROSTY TANK OF LIQUID NITROGEN IN AUCKLAND ALONG WITH THE TISSUE OF 45 OTHER KIWI WOMEN AND GIRLS. WHO OWNS THOSE OVARIES? WHAT AGE GROUPS? SO, WE'VE GOT ACROSS DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS, SO THERE WILL SOME CHILDREN'S OVARIES. HOW` HOW OLD? MAYBE DOWN AS YOUNG AS MAYBE 2. YES, SURPRISINGLY, IT'S CHILDREN WHO STAND TO BENEFIT MOST FROM SUCH ADVANCES. FERTILITY ASSOCIATE DR MARY BIRDSALL BELIEVES CANCER TREATMENT SHOULD BE ABOUT MORE THAN JUST SAVING LIVES. IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT SURVIVING. IT'S ABOUT THESE CHILDREN SURVIVING AND DOING ALL THE THINGS THAT WE EXPECT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH BEING ADULTS, AND PART OF THAT IS HAVING BABIES. (LAUGHS) AND HERE'S PROOF THAT IT WORKS ` MELBOURNE TWINS KAIA AND ALEXIS WITH THEIR PARENTS VALI AND DEAN. I DUNNO. IT'S HARD TO REMEMBER SOMETIMES, LIKE, WHEN YOU'RE CHANGING NAPPIES AND TRYING TO GET PEOPLE DRESSED, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE RUNNING IN TWO SEPARATE DIRECTIONS AND THROWING FOOD ON THE FLOOR AND STUFF LIKE THAT. IT'S HARD TO REMEMBER HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO HAVE THEM. BUT, UM, YEAH, IT` WE WOULDN'T CHANGE THEM FOR ANYTHING. HELLO, BEAUTIFUL. AS A 19 YEAR OLD, VALI CONTRACTED A RARE, SLOW-GROWING CANCER. THE TUMOUR APPEARED IN HER LEFT OVARY, WHICH HAD TO BE REMOVED. YEARS LATER, WHEN THE CANCER SPREAD THROUGHOUT HER ABDOMEN, HER DOCTOR SUGGESTED HER REMAINING OVARY WOULD NEED TO GO TOO ` ONLY THIS TIME PART OF IT WAS FROZEN. THE WAY HE DESCRIBED IT AT THE TIME` OBVIOUSLY, I KNEW TAKING MY LAST OVARY WOULD MEAN I COULDN'T HAVE KIDS, UM, AND HE EXPLAINED THE CHEMO WOULD DESTROY IT ANYWAY, SO IF HE TOOK IT THEN AT LEAST IT HAD A CHANCE IF MEDICAL SCIENCE PROGRESSED ENOUGH THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO POTENTIALLY USE IT IN THE FUTURE. AND HE JUST HAPPENED TO KNOW THE DOCTOR WHO I LATER WENT TO TO HELP ME HAVE CHILDREN AND HE KNEW THE WORK THAT SHE WAS DOING, SO HE KNEW THAT THERE WAS A CHANCE THAT I COULD HAVE CHILDREN IN THE FUTURE, POTENTIALLY. THE DOCTOR DOING THE WORK ON TISSUE PRESERVATION WAS ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR KATE STERN, AUSTRALIA'S LEADING FERTILITY EXPERT. THERE'S NO EVIDENCE THAT YOU GET ANY DECAY OVER TIME. IT'S FROZEN IN A SNAPSHOT IN TIME. THAT MEANS THE SLITHERS OF OVARY WHICH ARE KEPT HERE COULD STILL BE FUNCTIONAL A DECADE LATER, OR POTENTIALLY EVEN LONGER. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES TO USE THE TISSUE AGAIN, ALL IT TAKES IS A RELATIVELY SIMPLE LAPAROSCOPIC OPERATION. THE TINY WHITE LUMPS ON THE STRING IN THIS VIDEO ARE THE PIECES OF TISSUE, THAWED AFTER A YEARS IN A FREEZER AND REATTACHED. IT USUALLY TAKES FOUR MONTHS FOR THE TISSUE TO START WORKING, BECAUSE IT NEEDS A NEW BLOOD SUPPLY, BUT IT IS AMAZING. IT ALMOST ALWAYS STARTS TO WORK AND PRODUCE HORMONES WITHIN FOUR TO FIVE MONTHS OF BEING GRAFTED. AND THEN WE MIGHT TRY IVF OR PATIENT MIGHT TRY TO GET PREGNANT THEMSELVES. THE AMAZING THING IS THE TINY BITS OF THAWED OVARY CAN GET THAT BLOOD SUPPLY FROM ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT SITES. HERE, SOME TISSUE IS REATTACHED TO THE OVARY, BUT THESE BITS ARE BEING SEWN BACK ON TO THE ABDOMINAL WALL. AS IT TURNS OUT, THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE THEY PUT THE TISSUE IN VALI'S CASE, AND IN A WORLD-FIRST, IT WORKED. SO THIS WAS THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL PREGNANCY FROM TISSUE GRAFTED TO THE ABDOMINAL WALL. < IN THE WORLD? YES. THE RELEVANCE OF IT IS THAT IT SHOWS US WE CAN LOOK AT SITES OTHER THAN THE PELVIS. OR THEY'VE HAD LOTS OF RADIATION, AND WE DON'T THINK THAT TISSUE WILL WORK, SO I THINK THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS IS THAT IT EXPANDS OUR OPPORTUNITIES OF WHERE WE CAN PUT THE TISSUE. AFTER THREE YEARS AND 17 CYCLES OF IVF, THEY WENT IN A SCAN. AND THEN SHE WAS LIKE, 'IT'S TWINS', AND WE WERE JUST LIKE WOW. YEAH. IT TOOK A BIT TO SINK IN. BUT THAT WAS A PERFECT MOMENT AS WELL. BECAUSE WE KNEW IT WAS A ONE-TIME THING, SO TO HAVE TWINS, YOU KNOW, IN ONE HIT, YOU COULDN'T ASK FOR MORE THAN THAT. AFTER ALL THE TIME,... YEAH. ...IT WAS A PERFECT RESULT. A PERFECT RESULT IS JUST WHAT SHYLO HARRISON MIGHT ONE DAY HOPE FOR, EXCEPT THERE'S ONE SMALL PROBLEM - WHILE REMOVING AND FREEZING TISSUE IS ALLOWED IN NZ, THE OPERATION TO PUT IT BACK INTO PATIENTS ISN'T. BUT FIRST, CONTROVERSIAL MEDICAL DEVELOPMENT 48 BABIES HAVE BEEN BORN AROUND THE WORLD AS A RESULT OF FROZEN OVARIAN TISSUE BEING GRAFTED BACK INTO PATIENTS. HOWEVER, IT'S NOT HAPPENING HERE. IN NZ, YOUNG WOMEN AND GIRLS FACING CANCER TREATMENT ARE HAVING THEIR OVARIAN TISSUE FROZEN AND STORED HERE. BUT HERE'S THE PROBLEM ` THE OPERATION ISN'T CONSIDERED WHAT'S KNOWN AS AN ESTABLISHED PROCEDURE, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE FULL ETHICS COMMITTEE APPROVAL. SO WHILE PATIENTS CAN GET TISSUE REMOVED, THEY'RE ACTUALLY NOT ALLOWED TO GET IT PUT BACK IN. THEY HAVE TO GO TO AUSTRALIA FOR THAT. AND THAT'S SOMETHING SHYLO HARRISON CAN'T QUITE FATHOM. MY PARTNER AND I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A CHILD ONE DAY, YEAH. I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR AT ALL THAT WE... WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO. IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME. THE COMMITTEE WHICH MAKES POLICY ON ETHICS DECISIONS IS GETTING THERE, BUT IT'S AN INHERENTLY ARDUOUS PROCESS WHICH REQUIRES THE DRAFTING OF RULES AND THEN SIGN-OFF BY THE MINISTER. IS THE PROCESS TO GET THAT APPROVAL TOO SLOW IN YOUR VIEW? UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT IT'S A THOUGHTFUL PROCESS. WOULD I LIKE IT TO BE FASTER? OF COURSE I WOULD, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS IN THIS WORLD I WOULD LIKE TO BE FASTER. IS IT NOT FASTER BECAUSE THERE ARE ETHICAL AND CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES TIED UP WITH IT? LOOK, I THINK THERE ARE, AND I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE A THOUGHTFUL PROCESS. AND I THINK, ALSO, THERE ARE RISKS, AND THE RISKS ARE THAT THERE MAY POSSIBLY BE SOME CANCER CELLS IN THIS OVARIAN TISSUE. YES, IT'S POSSIBLE A PATIENT WHO'S FINALLY BECOME CANCER-FREE COULD IN FACT GET THEIR OLD CANCEROUS TISSUE PUT BACK IN. PERHAPS UNSURPRISINGLY, THEY'RE ALREADY WORKING ON WAYS TO GET AROUND THIS. ONE POSSIBLE OPTION BEING INVESTIGATED, ACCORDING TO SPECIALISTS IN MELBOURNE, IS TO USE AN ANIMAL, LIKE A RAT, TO BE THE HOST OF HUMAN TISSUE. THERE IS AN IDEA THAT WE HAVE ABOUT THE FUTURE WHERE WE COULD GRAFT THE TISSUE INTO NON-ANIMAL MODELS OR EVEN OTHER ANIMALS AND THEN EXTRACT THE EGGS, AND THEN PUT THE EMBRYOS BACK IN THE PATIENT, AND THAT WOULD REDUCE THE RISK OF CANCER FORMING BACK IN THE BODY. DO YOU THINK IT'S ETHICALLY RIGHT TO DO THIS? I THINK THAT... WITH ANY NEW TECHNOLOGY, THE SCIENCE ALWAYS GOES AHEAD OF THE MORAL AND ETHICAL DISCUSSION, BECAUSE YOU NEED TO HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY AND THEN YOU HAVE THE DISCUSSION. IN NZ, IT'S NOT JUST ETHICS GETTING IN THE WAY ` IT'S MONEY. THE GOVERNMENT WILL PAY FOR THE FREEZING OF EGGS AND SPERM, BUT NOT OVARIAN TISSUE. SHYLO'S PAYING $620 EVERY YEAR TO KEEP HER TISSUE ON ICE IN AUCKLAND, AND THE SURGERY COSTS THOUSANDS. I'M LUCKY THAT I HAVE SO MUCH SUPPORT, BUT IF I DIDN'T I` I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO HAVE DONE ANY OF THIS ON MY OWN. I'M SURE THAT A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PERSONALLY AFFECTED BY THIS FEEL IT'S UNFAIR. ONCOLOGIST SCOTT MCFARLANE IS THE CLINICAL HEAD OF CHILD CANCER. HE WANTS IT FUNDED, BUT SAYS AS IT STANDS THE SCIENCE IS STILL TOO EXPERIMENTAL. I THINK IT IS PROMISING, BUT THE EVIDENCE IT NOT, UM, COMPLETE, AND IT'S CERTAINLY NOT COMPLETE ENOUGH TO TAKE MONEY AWAY FROM ANOTHER ESTABLISHED PROGRAMME TO FUND THIS PROGRAMME. SO IN NZ, WE HAVE TO WAIT, WHICH IS FINE IF YOU HAVE TIME, BUT SHYLO WANTS TO START TRYING TO HAVE CHILDREN WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR. SO MANY BABIES HAVE BEEN BORN NOW. LIKE, HAVE` HAVE WE NOT PROVED THAT CHILDREN CAN BE BORN THAT WAY? SO, I THINK, DEFINITELY, IT SHOULD BE ALL SUBSIDISED. SO YOU THINK THERE'S ENOUGH EVIDENCE OUT THERE? > YEAH. SHE JUST HOPES THOSE CONSIDERING THE SITUATION MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION AND SOON. < YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY IN REMISSION AT THE MOMENT. YEP, I JUST GO FOR MRI'S EVERY YEAR, JUST TO MAKE SURE NOTHING'S COME BACK, AND, YEAH. < SO FAR, SO GOOD? YEP, SO FAR SO GOOD. HOPEFULLY IT STAYS THAT WAY. < AND NOW IT'S GETTING ON WITH LIFE? YEP, YEP. HOPEFULLY ONE DAY I'LL BE ABLE TO START A LITTLE FAMILY MYSELF IF I'M LUCKY` WELL, IF THE GOVERNMENT HELPS ME. (LAUGHS) BUT YEAH... WELL, MICHAEL TELLS ME THAT RIGHT NOW, SHYLO'S TALKING TO HER SPECIALIST, AND IF THE LAW HERE DOESN'T CHANGE VERY SOON, WELL, SHE'S GONNA SAVE HER MONEY AND HEAD OFF TO AUSTRALIA FOR THE OPERATION. BUT INTERESTINGLY, THIS ISN'T JUST FOR CANCER PATIENTS. IN FUTURE, IT COULD BE USED BY WOMEN WHO WANT TO DELAY HAVING BABIES, SO THEY COULD FREEZE THEIR OVARIAN TISSUE WHEN THEY'RE YOUNG AND AT THEIR MOST FERTILE AND THEN TRANSPLANT IT BACK LATER IN LIFE WHEN THEY ARE READY TO HAVE A FAMILY, AND IT'S A MUCH BETTER OPTION THAN JUST FREEZING A FEW EGGS. OK, NEXT UP, WHY SOME NZERS HAVE A TERRIBLE REACTION TO ANAESTHETICS. THEY CAN GO UNDER THE KNIFE AND NEVER WAKE UP. BUT THIS IS A WHOLE NEW LEVEL. WE'VE ALL HEARD ABOUT THAT HORRIFIC SCENARIO WHEN SOMEONE GOES UNDER ANAESTHETIC IN SURGERY, HAS A TERRIBLE REACTION AND DIES. IT CAN MAKE FOR SOME PRETTY SERIOUS ANXIETY PRE-OP, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE A NZER FROM A PARTICULAR BACKGROUND. IF YOUR ANCESTORS CAME HERE SEVERAL GENERATIONS AGO AND SETTLED IT THE LOWER NORTH ISLAND, YOU'LL WANT TO KEEP WATCHING. HERE'S PAULA PENFOLD. CAN YOU GET SOME HELP FOR ME NOW? UH, YEP, YEP, SURE. DO YOU WANT ME TO HIT THE ALARM BELLS? UM, YES PLEASE. MACHINES BEEP IT'S WHAT EVERY ANAESTHETIST AND EVERY PATIENT FEARS ` A ROUTINE SURGERY IS SUDDENLY LIFE-THREATENING. THE PATIENTS CARBON DIOXIDE LEVELS ARE RISING. THEIR PULSE IS RACING. THEIR TEMPERATURE IS CLIMBING DANGEROUSLY HIGH. SOFT CHATTER THEIR ORGANS ARE AT RISK OF FAILING. SOMETHING POTENTIALLY FATAL IS GOING ON. WHEELS CLATTER THIS, THANKFULLY, IS A SIMULATION OF A VERY REAL SITUATION. OK, SO WHAT WAS THAT BLOOD GAS? UH... I THINK IF AN ANAESTHETIST SEES THESE SIGNS, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS TO THINK OF WOULD BE, UM, MALIGNANT HYPERTHERMIA. MALIGNANT HYPERTHERMIA. IT SOUNDS BAD, AND IT IS. IT'S A GENETIC CONDITION WHICH SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE, WHEN THEY'RE IN SURGERY. AND IT HAS A PARTICULAR CONNECTION TO NZ, THANKS TO ONE FAMILY AND THEIR INTRIGUING ANCESTOR. SHANE SAUNDERS, WHO LIVES IN MARTON, IS ONE MEMBER OF THAT BIG FAMILY. HE'S AN EX-TRUCKIE, OFF WORK AT THE MOMENT BECAUSE HE'S RECOVERING FROM THE AMPUTATION OF HIS LEG, A COMPLICATION FROM A CAR ACCIDENT YEARS AGO. THE ACCIDENT MEANT HE'S HAD SEVERAL MAJOR SURGERIES. BAD ENOUGH FOR MOST PEOPLE, BUT FOR SHANE, THE ANXIETY IS EVEN HIGHER BECAUSE HE HAS MH, AND SO DID HIS MUM. WHAT WAS YOUR MUM'S NAME, SHANE? UH, GLADYS RAUPATA. AND HOW OLD WAS SHE WHEN SHE DIED? SHE WAS 20 YEARS OLD. 20? YEAH. OH, YEAH. SHE'S BEAUTIFUL. WHAT WAS IT THAT KILLED HER? UH, THE` SHE HAD, UM, AN APPENDIX BURST, AND DAD RUSHED HER TO THE HOSPITAL AND THEY GAVE HER A GENERAL ANAESTHETIC TO, UM, TO OPERATE ON HER AND SHE JUST DIED IN THEATRE, SO... AND THEY NOW KNOW IT WAS TO DO WITH THE ANAESTHETIC THAT SHE DIED? YEAH. MALIGNANT HYPERTHERMIA. YEAH. I WAS` SHE WAS NEVER REALLY TESTED AT THE TIME, BECAUSE THEY WERE UNSURE OF IT BACK THEN, BUT THEY'RE PRETTY SURE NOW THAT THAT'S WHAT KILLED HER. AND NOT ONLY HIS MUM ` THERE ARE AROUND A DOZEN OF SHANE'S WIDER FAMILY MEMBERS WHO'VE DIED THE SAME WAY FROM MH. BELL CLANGS AND THIS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN ` THE GENE TRACES ALL THE WAY BACK TO AN IMMIGRANT CALLED OCTAVIUS HARVEY WHO IN 1840 SAILED FROM SCOTLAND, VIA SYDNEY, TO THIS STRANGE LAND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD FOR A BETTER LIFE. HE MADE HIS TRADE IN THE TOUGH BUSINESS OF WHALING. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, HE MARRIED A LOCAL WOMAN, AND HE BECAME THE FOREFATHER OF A BIG WHANAU THAT SETTLED IN THE LOWER NORTH ISLAND, LEAVING AROUND 2000 DESCENDANTS AND ANOTHER LEGACY, ONE HE WOULD NEVER HAVE KNOWN ABOUT, AND EIGHT GENERATIONS SINCE HIM HAVE CARRIED IT ` MALIGNANT HYPERTHERMIA, MAKING SHANE'S THE BIGGEST FAMILY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WITH MH. SO, SHANE, YOU'VE BEEN AWARE IN YOUR FAMILY FOR A WHILE THAT THERE WAS AN ANCESTOR OF YOURS THAT BROUGHT THIS MH TO NZ. YES, YES, I HAD HEARD ABOUT THAT. SO, WE'VE FOUND OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HIM. WE FOUND OUT THAT HIS SURNAME IS HARVEY, AND THAT HE ARRIVED HERE IN THE 1840S FROM SCOTLAND. THAT'S REALLY` UH, YEAH, COS I ALWAYS SAID THAT HE WAS ENGLISH, BUT TO HAVE A NAME, I NEVER KNEW A NAME, SO THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO KNOW THAT. WE'VE DOCUMENTED OVER 2000, UM, FAMILY MEMBERS. NOT ALL OF THESE ARE LIVING, OBVIOUSLY, BUT, UM, WE'VE NOW TRACED SOME BRANCHES OF THE FAMILY BACK NINE GENERATIONS. THAT'S A LOT, ISN'T IT? TO THINK THAT'S ALL FROM ONE PERSON, YOU KNOW? YEAH. HOW FAR HAS IT SPREAD OUT? JUST WHO DOES HAVE IT AND WHO DOESN'T IS SOMETHING THEY CAN TEST AT PALMERSTON NORTH HOSPITAL. THIS MAN HAS A FAMILY HISTORY OF MH, SO THEY'RE GIVING HIM A MUSCLE BIOPSY... OPEN AND CLOSE YOUR HAND. PLEASE SCRATCH DOWN HERE. ...ALL UNDER THE VIGILANT EYE OF ANAESTHETIST AND MH EXPERT NEIL POLLOCK. MUSCLE BIOPSY IS, UM` IT'S QUITE INVASIVE. A, UH, AN INCISION HAS MADE. MUSCLE HAS TO BE TAKEN FROM THE OUTSIDE OF THE LEG. THE POINT OF HAVING THE TEST NOW IS LIFE INSURANCE, REALLY, BECAUSE KNOWING BEFORE ANY FUTURE SURGERY COULD SAVE HIS LIFE. DOCTORS WOULD BE PREPARED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ATTACK, AND DIFFERENT DRUGS WOULD BE USED. BUT THE TEST IS PRETTY GRUESOME. THEY TAKE A CHUNK OUT OF HIS QUAD ` QUITE A BIT CHUNK, CONSIDERING MUSCLE DOESN'T GROW BACK. IT'S TAKEN STRAIGHT TO THE LAB, WHERE THEY ADD THE MOST COMMONLY USED ANAESTHETIC, HALOTHANE, TO SEE HOW THE MUSCLE REACTS. ITS MOVEMENT, OR LACK OF MOVEMENT, SHOWS WHETHER OR NOT THE PATIENT HAS MH. IN THIS CASE, HE'S LUCKY., THIS IS YOUR LAB, KATHRYN? YES, THIS IS MY LAB. BUT THE MUSCLE BIOPSY IS CLEARLY A VERY INVASIVE TECHNIQUE, SO HERE AT MASSEY UNIVERSITY THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND A BETTER WAY. IT'S A CALLING, REALLY, FOR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR KATHRYN STOWELL. FOR 20 YEARS SHE'S BEEN WORKING TO DIAGNOSE MH USING DNA ` GENETIC SCREENING. IT'S A GENETIC DISORDER THAT WE CAN RECOGNISE, AND IF WE RECOGNISE IT, WE CAN ACTUALLY PREVENT IT. SO THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING HERE WILL SAVE LIVES, ULTIMATELY. THEORETICALLY, YES. I MEAN, IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SAVE LIVES. IT'S A LABORIOUS PROCESS. DR STOWELL'S WORK INVOLVES SIFTING THROUGH AN ALPHABET SOUP OF DNA, LOOKING FOR THE GENETIC MUTATIONS THAT CAUSE MALIGNANT HYPERTHERMIA. ONCE ALL OF THE HUNDREDS OF MUTATIONS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, THOSE AT RISK, LIKE OCTAVIUS HARVEY'S DESCENDANTS, WILL BE ABLE TO GET JUST A BLOOD TEST, AND IT COULD SAVE THEIR LIVES. WHERE ARE YOU ON THE SPECTRUM? UH, THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE, COMPARED TO HOW MUCH THERE IS TO GO? WHERE ARE YOU? WE ARE JUST STARTING. I WISH I HAD ANOTHER 20 YEARS OF RESEARCH AHEAD OF ME, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T. UM` YOU SURE ABOUT THAT? WHY NOT? I'M POSITIVE. NO, I'M TOO OLD. (LAUGHS) THE WORK IS IMPORTANT, BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE SHANE SAUNDERS. HIS DAUGHTERS, OF COURSE, HAVE A 50/50 CHANCE OF HAVING MH. HE'S HAD TWO NEAR-FATAL ATTACKS IN SURGERY HIMSELF, SO HE'S VERY AWARE OF WHAT HE MAY WELL HAVE PASSED ON. YOU SURVIVED IT, BUT HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT OUTCOME? YEAH. IT'S VERY SCARY, COS I KEPT THINKING I WAS THE SAME AGE AS MY MOTHER WHEN SHE'D PASSED AWAY WITH IT, SO, YEAH, IT WAS VERY SCARY AT THE TIME. < DO YOU THINK NOW, NOW THAT WE KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR ANCESTOR WHO BROUGHT IT HERE, YOU KNOW, HE WOULD HAVE NO IDEA, OBVIOUSLY, WHAT HE WAS PASSING ON. NO, NOT A THOUGHT IN THE WORLD. THEY OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T KNOW FOR NEARLY A HUNDRED YEARS, ISN'T IT? YEAH, MORE THAN` MORE. YEAH, NEARLY 200. THAT'S A LONG TIME OF THAT FLOATING AROUND WITHOUT KNOWING ABOUT IT, ISN'T IT? WELL, SINCE WE FILMED THAT STORY WITH SHANE, HE'S HAD TO HAVE ANOTHER OPERATION, AND, OF COURSE, TO KEEP HIM SAFE, THEY HAD TO GIVE HIM A SPECIAL TYPE OF ANAESTHETIC AND KEEP HIM IN INTENSIVE CARE UNDER CLOSE SCRUTINY. FORTUNATELY, IT ALL WENT TO PLAN, AND HE'S STILL WITH US. OK, THAT IS OUR PROGRAMME. 3D WILL BE BACK NEXT MONDAY AT 9.30. WE'LL SEE YOU THEN. THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE FOR YOU AND YOUR HOME. FUJITSU HEAT PUMPS, PROUD TO HAVE BROUGHT YOU TONIGHT'S 3D. COPYRIGHT ABLE 2015