Last updated at 22:00 26 January 2007

Stricken with an illness that is

likely to kill him before he reaches

the age of 30, Nick Wallis had a special

request to put to the nuns and

nurses looking after him at hospice.

He asked them to help him find a prostitute

and – after some hesitation – they did.

Mr Wallis, 22, persuaded them he should be

allowed to have a sexual experience before

he died. Knowing that he was now unlikley

to have one in a loving relationship, he had

decided his only alternative was to pay.

The case of Mr Wallis, who has Duchenne

Muscular Dystrophy, posed a major moral

dilemma for Sister Frances Dominica, the

founder of Douglas House hospice in Oxford,

and the establishment’s ethics committee.

After seeking advice to ensure they were

not acting illegally, the decision was taken to

support Mr Wallis, with nurse Chris Bloor

helping him to find a suitable woman on disability sites on the Internet.

Sister Frances said: "We have known Nick for many years. He had been unable to form a relationship

with a girl at university.

"He first shared with one of our doctors and

then one of our nurses, his feelings of wanting

to experience, if nothing else, a sexual

relationship before he died – something so

many people take for granted.

"It has to be said that the charity debated

this request at length. It’s the first time we

have ever been asked such a question."

The story of Mr Wallis’s request will be featured

next week in an episode of Children of

Helen House, a BBC2 eight-part series about

a hospice for children and Douglas House,

the neighbouring facility for young adults.

Sister Frances added: "Nick decided that

the only way forward was to pay for a sexual

experience, with or without our support, and

we came to the conclusion that it was our

duty of care to support him.

"When Nick did make contact with the

young woman, he met her at home, but with

the Douglas House nurse and another adult

in a different room in case he needed them."

Mr Wallis’s mother admitted that she

struggled with her son’s wish. "It is not what

I would wish for anyone, least of all Nick."

Mr Wallis, who lives in Northamptonshire,

said he had always hoped that he would

experience sex as part of a close relationship.

"I began to accept that this might not happen

for me,’ he added.

He said he met the prostitute after his final

degree exams last May. "Her train was late,

which did not help my nerves.

"She turned out to be intelligent and pleasant

woman, attractive, in her late 20s. I guess that

she was used to relating to nervous people as

she put me at ease. The two hours passed

quickly and it was, you may say, satisfactory.

"I am pleased I had the tenacity and commitment

to see it through. The experience,

while not emotionally fulfilling, gave me confidence

and a sense that I was not missing out.

"I do not think I will necessarily choose to

repeat it, although I have not ruled it out."

Helen House and Douglas House provide

respite for exhausted parents of the terminally

ill and end of life care for children and

young adults.

Children of Helen House is shown on BBC2

on Tuesdays at 10pm.