Hello. This is David Gower making a special appeal as Patron of the
children’s leukaemia research charity Leukaemia Busters for your
help in raising funds for an item of laboratory equipment essential
for the life-saving research work conducted by the charity.
That's me in the photograph standing next to something called a flow cytometer,
an instrument that uses lasers to interrogate and measure a whole manner of
complicated things very accurately in individual leukaemia and other types of blood
cells. It is able to inform our research scientists exactly how individual leukaemia
cells are responding to the experimental antibody-based treatments that they are
developing. The instrument with me in the photo was originally purchased with
money raised in part by parents of children with leukaemia and is now 17 years old.
During its lifetime it has played a very important role in the work of the
Leukaemia Busters in The Simon Flavell Leukaemia Research Laboratory
at Southampton General Hospital contributing to the development of antibody
treatments later used in the first clinical trial in Britain with antibody based treatment
for children with leukaemia. You could say that this item of laboratory equipment is
as vital to our research scientists as a cricket bat was for me in my career!
David Gower with the 17 year old flow cytometer that is now in urgent need of replacement.
Like everything, with the passing years
laboratory equipment wears out or becomes
obsolete, sometimes to the extent that it’s no
longer economical to keep on repairing it. This is
the case for this old timer and the research team
need to urgently replace it to be able to keep
up to date and take advantage of the increased
analytical power of the latest generation of
instruments. This will enable our research
scientists to conduct their experiments more
accurately and effectively, and to progress their
life saving work that much more quickly.
It’s not cheap. The cost of replacement is
£75,000, money that the charity will have to
raise at a time when the financial climate is
uncertain and money is tight for everyone.
I appeal to you to kindly consider making a
donation towards the cost of this instrument, no
matter how big or small. Individuals, schools,
colleges, universities, trusts, commercial and
philanthropic organisations, everyone and
anyone are invited to make a contribution.
As joint Patron of Leukaemia Busters together
with my wife Thorunn we have both seen
first-hand the fantastic nature of the work carried
out in the laboratory and the rapid progress that
is being made by our scientists in developing
new and improved antibody treatments for
patients with leukaemia. Leukaemia Busters is a
small charity that has set itself a big objective of
global importance. I invite you to join us in this
important quest. Thank you.
How you can help support
the Blood Flow Appeal
- If you would like to fundraise for the
Blood Flow Appeal please contact
Leukaemia Busters on 023 8077 5590
or email contact@leukaemiabusters.org.uk
- You can donate online at
justgiving.com/bloodflowappeal
- You can text "Flow12 £Your Amount" to 70070
- You can send a cheque payable to
Leukaemia Busters, to David Gower
(Blood Flow Appeal), MP3 Southampton General
Hospital, Southampton, SO16 6YD
- Or by bank transfer to Leukaemia Busters NatWest Bank, account no. 37684000, sort code 56-00-68, ref BFA with your name. Please email to inform us at contact@leukaemiabusters.org.uk for acknowledgement
Leukaemia Busters Patrons David and Thorunn Gower (centre) with Drs David
and Bee Flavell launch the Blood Flow Appeal.