Newsletter 2007-08

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Margaret’s Message

Here we are in December with Christmas just around the corner and I am delighted to report that the Foundation has enjoyed a very successful year with its fundraising initiatives.

The Margaret Pratt Foundation Committee and the Progressive Committee are made up of a small number of very hardworking and dedicated volunteers who are committed to raising funds for research associated with lung and heart transplantation. I take this opportunity to thank them and Ann Cohn – my right hand lady – for their efforts throughout 2007.

The Margaret Pratt Foundation is very pleased to announce that Lesley and Roger Gillespie have agreed to become patrons of the foundation. Lesley and Roger are the founders of Bakers Delight and they have been very signifi cant supporters of the Foundation since 2001. Lesley is the immediate past chairperson of the Margaret Pratt Committee. We thank them for this further contribution to the work of the foundation.

The Foundation is very fortunate to have the continued support of our corporate partner WD Rose & Joseph Allison Funerals. They play a major role in our continued success and my thanks goes to Sandra Bishop and Ray Marsh for their generous sponsorship of our concert featuring Pot Pourri. WD Rose & Joseph Allison Funerals will be holding their 3rd – now famous and eagerly anticipated – Charity Night to raise funds for the Foundation on Saturday, 4th October 2008. Mark the date in your diary now!

I have recently become involved with ShareLife – a group of community leaders and concerned citizens, including the Governor- General – working to stop Australians suffering and dying needlessly while waiting for a transplant.

Did you know?

Over 5 million Australians have ticked a box to donate their organs or tissues – one of the HIGHEST rates in the world.
But with only 200 deceased donors this year, our donation rate is one of the LOWEST in the developed world.

ShareLife recognises that Australia needs to establish an integrated and coordinated approach to organ and tissue transplantation as our fragmented systems are not delivering the results expected by the community. ShareLife has articulated the strategies needed in Australia to lead the world in this new approach and has embarked on the fi rst stage of a unique national social change programme to address the problem of Australians dying needlessly whilst waiting for a transplant. You will be hearing more of ShareLife in the near future.

In 2008, the Foundation will be out and about to promote Organ Donation Awareness Week, which is 18th – 24th February. Our enthusiastic volunteers will be sizzling the sausages at Bunnings Hardware 1126 Centre Road, South Oakleigh on Saturday 9th February. Come along and sample our delicious BBQ, generously donated by butcher Peter Bouchier and Bakers Delight and purchase your hardware requirements to complete that DIY project you have been promising to finish!

Funds raised in 2007 have allowed us to meet our commitment to the Alfred Hospital as well as to support two extra projects. Thank you, to all donors both large and small. Without you we could not have done this. You have made a signifi cant contribution towards enabling us to achieve our long-term goal of giving children and adults after heart and lung transplant a healthy life for many years.

Please enjoy reading about our 2007 events and the projects the Foundation plans to support in 2008. We have enclosed a donation slip for your use if you wish to remember the Margaret Pratt Foundation in your Christmas gift giving.

Merry Christmas, peace and good health.

Margaret.

Dinner at Samson Hill Estate

On a cold, wet mid-winter night 100 hardy souls made their way to Samson Hill Estate in Kangaroo Ground to a dinner organised by MPF supporter Pam Merlo.

Pam and Pago Sampson, our hosts for the night, made sure the evening was a wonderful success, providing a delicious meal and generous provision of Samson Hill Estate wines – not to mention a knockout view of the lights of Melbourne!!

A spirited auction together with the donation of profi ts from the dinner raised over $8000 for the Foundation.

Many, many thanks Pam for organising the event with such care.

Research Projects 2007

$66,000 was granted to The Alfred Hospital in 2007 from funds donated by MPF supporters. Five Research Projects were supported by this grant.

$25,000 was assigned to Dr. Nicole Mifsud towards her salary. Dr. Mifsud is investigating the relationship between viral infections and immune response in lung transplant recipients.
$25,000 was granted to fund a half-time research assistant to work with Dr. Mifsud in the Transplant Research Unit.
$5,000 was donated for the purchase of a Dynamap which monitors pulse, blood pressure and saturation levels during walk testing. These tests are key end points in pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary fi brosis studies.
$6,000 was granted for the purchase of 20 oxygenators to support research into “Donation after Cardiac Death”. This research is aimed at increasing by up to 75% the number of donor organs available for transplantation.
$5,000 was donated by the Freehills Foundation to the MPF for the purchase of a highly-specialised printer for use in bronchoscopies.

We thank the Freehills Foundation for this generous support of our work.

Research Projects 2008

In 2007 the Alfred Hospital’s Lung Transplant Service performed 29 lung transplants. Now in its 18th year, the Alfred Heart Lung Transplant Service is one of the largest clinical programs in lung transplantation in the world.

The service has developed an active research program focusing on key problems which restrict the number of long-term survivors with a high quality of life following lung transplantation.

These key problems include: donor shortages, chronic rejection in the form of bronchiolitis obliterans, renal function impairment due to drug toxicity and recurrent infections in the lung transplant.

In 2008, the Margaret Pratt Foundation will support the following projects which will continue to work towards solving these problems.

$30,000 will be granted as part salary for Dr. Nicole Mifsud to continue her work investigating the relationship between viral infection and immune response in transplant recipients. It is believed that these investigations will lead to optimal immunosuppressive and anti-viral strategies which will strike the right balance for each transplant recipient.
$30,000 will be granted for the continuation of immunohistochemistry research. The MPF has already provided substantial fi nancial support for this work, which is investigating factors leading to chronic lung rejection. As a result of these studies (part of Dr. Tanya McWilliams PhD thesis), it has been shown that the levels of an important chemical signaler (TGF beta) are increased in the wall of airways well before there is a measurable effect on lung function. Continued research may develop a rationale for a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of chronic lung rejection.

Just a thought…

“Recently I sat at the Alfred Hospital with a very close friend as her daughter had a double lung transplant. It has been a tough road for this family as both children have this terrible disease (cystic fi brosis). It was amazing and comforting for me to read how your Foundation has worked to help so many people. There is a long road ahead but thank you so very much. Your work has inspired me.” Email message: 30th July 2007.

“Dear Margaret, My wife and I read with interest your Foundation newsletter while visiting the Alfred Hospital with our 9 year old daughter. We are encouraged by your story and what you have personally gone through with regards to a third double lung transplant … you are an inspiration to all.” Email message: 29th June 2007.

Foundation supporter Pam Merlo is collecting poems and prose which she hopes to publish as an inspirational and uplifting anthology for transplant patients and their families.

The proceeds from sales of the book will go to the Margaret Pratt Foundation.

If you have a story to tell and would like to share it, please send copy to:
Pam Merlo
43 Thompson Crescent
Research,Vic 3095.