José Carreras Leukaemia Foundation
The José Carreras Leukaemia Foundation is a private, charitable and non-profitable organization, founded by the tenor José Carreras following his recovery. Carreras founded the Foundation on July 14, 1988, with one single objective: that leukaemia will one day be 100% curable. He wanted to make a permanent testimony to science and society to show his gratitude for the support he received throughout his illness. After that, other branches of the José Carreras Foundation against Leukemia were formed in the United States, Switzerland and Germany.
Strategic Objectives
Make society aware of what leukaemia and the rest of haematological malignancies like lymphoma or multiple myeloma are, and how they affect society.
Achieve better quality of life for patients and their families.
Increase the number of bone marrow donors and the units of stored umbilical cord blood, as well as the number of members of the Foundation. Make progress in scientific research projects.
Activities
● The search and promotion of voluntary bone marrow and umbilical cord blood donors for those patients who need a transplant and have no compatible donor in their family. In 1991, the Foundation created the Spanish Bone Marrow Donors Registry (REDMO), to ensure that no leukaemia patient would be unable to receive a transplant because they did not have a compatible donor in their family. For 3 out of every 4 patients who need a transplant, the donation of bone marrow from a non-related donor is the only possibility of treatment. Prior to the Foundation's creation of REDMO, Spanish patients were unable to access the registers of donors held by other developed Western countries. Thanks to this initiative, Spanish patients today can access all available bone marrow donors and umbilical cord blood units all over the world.
● Financing for national and international scientific research projects. The José Carreras Foundation gives a great amount of its income to promote scientific research. The President of the Foundation’s Scientific Committee, Prof. Ciril Rozman, states that the best way to achieve a definite cure for leukaemia is to promote research amongst young scientists. In this way, he contributes to the search for a definite cure for leukaemia and other haematological diseases. The Foundation has already invested more than 8 million Euros in scientific investigation projects and, in 2010, created the José Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, one of the few centres in the world to research haematological malignancies exclusively.
● Support for hospitals. In order to bring cutting-edge technology to patients, the Foundation finances several projects to help improve hospital infrastructure. The José Carreras Foundation wishes to contribute to the accelerated introduction of the most advanced therapeutic methods in health centres and improve research infrastructure. For this reason and within its capabilities, the Foundation provides support to accredited, publicly accessible centres in order that patients and service teams are able to benefit from the best possible conditions. For example, since 1988, the José Carreras Foundation has contributed to the development of the Umbilical Cord Bank of Barcelona, the Umbilical Cord Banks of Düsseldorf and Geneva and different transplant units in Spain and Germany.
● Social Services for patients and their families. Patients must often undergo a bone marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant. Because of this, they will be required to spend large amounts of time in the hospital and, in many cases, far from their homes. In such cases it is extremely important that they are able to count on the help and company of their family. The Foundation has 6 apartments available to meet the requirements of patients and families with limited financial resources or who must move away from their normal place of residence. The José Carreras Foundation also makes available a free information service about the illness to families and patients affected by leukaemia throughout the world. To use this service, simply submit the ask the doctor form. Ask the doctor
● Farreras-Valentí Programme. Since 2009, the José Carreras Foundation has included a new programme in its activities called Farreras-Valentí Programme. This is born with the idea to promote and support the faculty in the field of haematology. As a consequence of the merger between the José Carreras Foundation against leukaemia and the Farreras Valentí Haematology School Foundation, the Foundation was also linked to the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona.
Further reading
External links
- The Spanish Foundation’s webpage
- The German Foundation’s webpage
- Videos of the Foundation on Youtube