A Larkhall mum was walked down the aisle at her wedding by the man who saved her life.

Peppie Scobbie married her long-term partner Stevie on Valentines Day after receiving a life-saving stem cell transplant from none other than her own older brother, Tom McClure.

Tom was an exact match to Peppie following her diagnosis with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in August 2017, and following chemotherapy the pair underwent the procedure in January 2018. The operation was deemed a huge success, with Peppie now in full remission.

And the life-changing experience meant so much to the mum-of-three that she finally agreed to marry partner Stevie after 22 years together, with brother Tom giving her away.

Peppie explained: These last two and a half years have been a whirlwind. The worst of my life, culminating in one of the best days at my wedding with my brother Tom giving me away.

Up until 2017 I had kept in good health and I only found out I had AML due to a poison finger which wouldnt heal after three courses of antibiotics and a persistent daughter telling me to go see the doctor!

Thankfully I did, and what went from bloods being taken one day, I was then in ward 16 at Hairmyres the next and receiving chemotherapy the third. It all happened so fast!

As a family we were all gutted, but I decided to stay positive and fight this with everything I have.

Unfortunately the first round of chemotherapy made me very unwell and that September I ended up in intensive care with pneumonia and septic shock. I was on life support for two weeks, not aware of what was going on, but my family faithfully visited.

Unknown to Peppie, 50, while she was in ICU her three siblings, Margaret, Tom and David, underwent tissue match tests to see if any of them were suitable stem cell donors.

The 50-year-old only discovered they had been tested when she awoke from intensive care.

Peppie added: I got home for Christmas and my brother Tom called me asking if I wanted the good or bad news first. I said bad so he replied he was terrified as he was scared of needles and the good news was that he was a perfect match. We were both delighted and it was the best gift ever to receive at Christmas and New Year.

Contracts manager Tom, 53, of Larkhall, then received injections of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) a hormone which increases stem cells prior to the procedure.

And on January 25, 2018, he underwent a five-hour peripheral blood stem cell transplantation a non-surgical procedure where a needle in each arm draws the blood through a cell separator with the stem cells kept for the recipient and all other bloods going back into the donor.

The following day Peppie was given her brothers stem cells.

She said: Tom sat in a recliner chair for hours undergoing the procedure and he said he would do it all over again if needed. I am eternally grateful to him for giving me a second chance at life.

So much so that after years of laughing off my partner Stevies proposal I knew that I wanted to marry him and we both agreed that there was no one else than Tom who should walk me down the aisle.

Peppie thanked the staff in ward 4b and the haematology clinic at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and wards 16 and 26 at University Hospital Hairmyres, as well as DKMS, a non-profit organisation who are dedicated to fighting against blood cancer and blood disorders whose mission is to find a matching donor for every blood cancer patient in need of a stem cell donation.

She added: Please, if youre aged 18 to 55 and in generally good health and not already registered then please request a swab kit to register as a potential blood stem cell donor. There quite simply arent enough.

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Larkhall mum was walked down the aisle by stem cell donor who saved her life - Daily Record