Fundraising
Leading scientist to run London Marathon to help fund Heart Healing Patch
A leading scientist will run the TCS London Marathon 2022 for us, to help a revolutionary Heart Healing Patch he is creating become a step closer to reality.
Professor Sanjay Sinha is leading ground-breaking research that we fund to develop the Patch, which could be applied to damaged hearts like a plaster to help them repair.
It could save and improve the lives of millions of people worldwide living with heart failure, a currently incurable condition that can shorten lives and can be so debilitating that everyday tasks like climbing a flight of stairs becomes a struggle.
Funds raised by BHF runners at this year’s TCS London Marathon will go towards cutting-edge research into regenerative medicine, which could one day find a desperately needed cure for heart failure. The Heart Healing Patch is one of nine projects that will benefit from the money raised at the TCS London Marathon, where we are Charity of the Year for 2022.
And to help get the Patch over the finish line, we are now rallying the nation to support Sanjay, who will lace up his trainers and run the famous 26.2-mile course on Sunday 2nd October.
Poignantly, Sanjay’s running number for the marathon will be 17,000 – which is how many people are diagnosed with heart failure in the UK each month.
Heart Healing Patch
Sanjay and his team at the University of Cambridge have spent years researching the Heart Healing Patch, which is grown in a petri dish.
Using stem cells to make new heart tissue is a promising approach, but scientists have previously faced challenges when transplanting these cells into the heart, as they struggle to grow and function properly.
By using stem cells and giving them a specific mixture of proteins called growth factors, Sanjay and his team have been able to stimulate the cells into becoming heart tissue. These specialised cells are then grown on a ‘scaffold’ made of collagen to support the growth of these cells.
The result is a patch of heart tissue that contracts in a coordinated way, just like the heart muscle does when it beats. The team aims to graft them onto damaged areas of the heart to help repair it.
The technology behind the Heart Healing Patch has been successful in rats and the funding from the TCS London Marathon will help it to progress to human trials.
If successful, the Patch could prove lifesaving for those living with heart failure, where the heart is unable to pump blood around the body properly.
Improving and saving lives
Around 64 million people worldwide are living with heart failure, with an estimated 920,000 people living with the condition in the UK alone. There are around 200,000 new diagnoses each year in the UK and in its severest form, heart failure has a survival rate worse than many cancers.
Professor Sanjay Sinha, British Heart Foundation Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, said: “The heart healing patch could have the ability to improve and save the lives of millions worldwide.
“Heart failure can have a devastating impact, with only a 50/50 chance of survival for anyone living with the condition after five years. We also know that heart failure can dramatically impact quality of life, with even the simplest tasks like walking to the shops or getting dressed causing breathlessness and discomfort.
“Our hope for the heart healing patch is to restore the lifespan and quality of life for people living with heart failure. The support of the BHF’s runners and supporters at this year’s TCS London Marathon could be truly transformative and help us carry out the first clinical trials of the patch in patients.
“Running the marathon will be no easy feat, but knowing that it could help fund the research of my team and provide hope for the millions affected by heart failure will inspire me over that finish line.”
Much-needed hope
The Heart Healing Patch is just one example of ground-breaking regenerative medicine funded by us. Regenerative medicine is at the frontier of research into heart and circulatory diseases, and aims to find ways to regrow, repair and replace damaged heart muscle and blood vessels.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive, said: “Heart failure is a chronic disease that worsens over time, and the only treatments available are to slow down the progression of the disease.
“Regenerative medicine offers much-needed hope for the almost one million people living with heart failure in the UK. The heart healing patch could revolutionise the way we care for people with damaged hearts and move away from merely treating the symptoms of heart failure, towards a cure.
“But the only way we can make the patch a reality is through the generous support of the public. That’s why we are calling on the nation to rally behind Sanjay through fundraising, donations and support on the day of the marathon, to help get this ground-breaking research over the finish line even faster.”
Alexandra’s story
The heart healing patch could make a huge difference to people like Alexandra Ellis, a mum-of-two from Darlington who is living with heart failure.
Alexandra was diagnosed with a hole in her heart aged 12, which was discovered after she started having difficulty at school playing sport. She needed urgent open heart surgery within weeks of her diagnosis, as doctors found that the right side of her heart and the arteries to her lungs were about to collapse under pressure.
Although the surgery was successful, the damage to Alexandra’s heart resulted in a diagnosis of heart failure in 2019 aged 29 years old. The condition affects her breathing, and she takes medication to help with her symptoms.
Alexandra, now 31, said: “It doesn’t matter what your age is, your gender or your background – I’m proof that anyone can be affected by heart failure.
“It’s an invisible disease and people can look at me and think there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me. But for me and my family, it’s a shadow in our lives that sits there in the corner, and we don’t know what the future might hold.
“Having open heart surgery so young and going through what I did, destroyed me. There’s no other way of putting it. Things you would normally contemplate at 12-years-old had gone into a different realm.
“It’s only when I talk about it when I realise how far I’ve come. I got my Law degree, I’ve given birth to two children, I’ve done all my campaigning for the BHF. I thank the BHF for making sure I never held back in life.
“The British Heart Foundation’s research gives me all the hope in the world that there are new breakthroughs out there. Thanks to advances in medical research, my life was saved once before - and I have no doubt that it will save my life again.”