Doctors refuse to save boy dying of leukemia unless he pays $1.5m for lifesaving treatment

A Nigerian boy who travelled to the UK for a small operation then found out that he had cancer - but a quirk in the system means his family can't afford life-saving surgery. Photo / GoFundme

A Nigerian boy who travelled to the UK for a small operation then found out that he had cancer - but a quirk in the system means his family can't afford lifesaving surgery.

Despite being in a race against the clock, doctors cannot legally operate on him until his parents front up with the £885,000 (NZ$1,701,890) bill.

Nathaniel Nabena, 8, had one of eyes removed in Nigeria in order to stop the spread of cancer.

He has been fighting the disease for three years, and his parents were hopeful a trip to the UK would put an end to his terrifying ordeal.

In November 2020 he travelled to the UK to get a prosthetic eye fitted, what was supposed to be the last step in his recovery.

The $9600 surgery was meant to be relatively quick, but Nathaniel soon became sick and tests revealed he had leukemia.

He needs a stem cell transplant to stay alive, but doctors won't operate on him until the bill is paid.

Because Nathaniel is from a non-EU country they are charged 150 per cent of the NHS price for hospital treatment.

If the family can't raise the funds in time, Nathaniel faces death, with the next step being Hospice care.

"If we do not manage to raise the funds, we have been told that hospice care is the next step," his father Ebisidor wrote on a GoFundMe page.

The whopping million-dollar bill is to cover expenses for tests, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.

Nathaniel arrived in the UK to get a prosthetic eye, but he ended up with a cancer diagnosis instead. Photo / GoFundme

Nathaniel's dad described his son as "a bright, wonderful child".

"It has been a long, hard journey but we will never stop fighting for Nathaniel. He deserves a life free of cancer," Ebisidor Nabena said.

"In a perfect world, money would not be more important than the beating heart of a child, but this is unfortunately the reality we face."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told The Sun in a statement: "Every taxpayer supports the health service and so it is only right that overseas visitors contribute towards their treatment costs.

"As the rules stand, NHS care must be paid for in advance of providing non-urgent treatment and any debts that do arise from providing urgent care will be followed up with.

"The NHS will always provide high standards of care for those who need it and repayment plans can be agreed with the provider."

So far more than $125,000 has been raised. They're aiming to reach $1.5m in time to save Nathaniel.