Not sure if people are aware of this deadline for pledges or how the pledges will get boosted so I'm starting a new thread.
The MEA (and other UK charities) are trying to raise money for a UK ME/CFS biobank, which will allow researchers to access blood of well-described patients (and controls), and (funding allowing) other stuff such as cerebrospinal fluid so that biomedical researchers will have immediate access to samples rather than having the huge expense and delay of recruiting, screening and taking samples from patients before they can start. A biobank would be a fantastic boost to biomedical ME research in the UK.
The MEA has entered the biobank project into the Big Give, a charity initiative that means that money pledged by Oct 3 will act as a matching fund for donations in the main donation phase which will start later. Pledges will also mean that the biobank fund is eligible to be topped up by donations from major donors taking part in the Big Give so we'll potentially get a lot of money from outside our normal community.
@charles shepherd, please feel free to add/comment. Dr Shepherd has said (I think) that if you pledge, potentially you're quadrupling your money.
Over £10,000 has already been pledged by 47 donors, with a target of £25,000 (which could lead to us getting £100,000 in the main phase).
The minimum pledge is £100.
Project video here:
The MEA (and other UK charities) are trying to raise money for a UK ME/CFS biobank, which will allow researchers to access blood of well-described patients (and controls), and (funding allowing) other stuff such as cerebrospinal fluid so that biomedical researchers will have immediate access to samples rather than having the huge expense and delay of recruiting, screening and taking samples from patients before they can start. A biobank would be a fantastic boost to biomedical ME research in the UK.
The MEA has entered the biobank project into the Big Give, a charity initiative that means that money pledged by Oct 3 will act as a matching fund for donations in the main donation phase which will start later. Pledges will also mean that the biobank fund is eligible to be topped up by donations from major donors taking part in the Big Give so we'll potentially get a lot of money from outside our normal community.
@charles shepherd, please feel free to add/comment. Dr Shepherd has said (I think) that if you pledge, potentially you're quadrupling your money.
Over £10,000 has already been pledged by 47 donors, with a target of £25,000 (which could lead to us getting £100,000 in the main phase).
The minimum pledge is £100.
Project video here: