“Questions of the Heart”

Thank you for wanting to know more about our fundraising campaign!  You can download the summary of our campaign here.

What’s the plan?

We have launched a research fund for U.K. based research into Kawasaki Disease, designed to find answers to key questions. We will select our research questions working closely with families who have been affected by Kawasaki Disease, focusing on an area or areas which will help improve long term outcomes and/or care for children and families here in the U.K.

What will we study and why?

We will work with families affected by Kawasaki Disease to identify the key questions they wish to see investigated – including describing what benefits and outcomes we seek from our research.  We know there are many questions which families need answers to and we hope to identify some shared questions which our research project will help us answer.

Will the research questions only be about the heart?

No! We know the things that parents and families want to know are ‘close to their hearts’ – and so our campaign title “Questions of the heart” just reflects that these are really important questions.  As we talk with our supporters as the project gets underway, we’ll explore many possible questions – we know there are lots – and that these are not just heart related!  There are many possible directions the research could take us in – and if you get involved, if we are successful with our fundraising – you can help us shape that!  Please help us make our research a reality by giving us your support.

How will the research plan be designed & delivered?

We will carefully design investigations which respond to one or more question/enquiry areas (as our funding allows).  We are fortunate to have the clinical leadership of both Professor Robert Tulloh and Professor Paul Brogan – two of our Societi Professors – who will direct and oversee the research project.  Subject to funding, the project will be delivered by a small dedicated team and together – with input from families throughout – we will undertake research which enables our question(s) to be answered.

Who will we involve?

We will work in partnership, working jointly across research centres and with the active participation of our family/patient community throughout.  We will actively look to work with partners who can help us achieve our research aims.

What will our impact be?

We want our research to directly help children, young people and adults in the UK who live with the long term consequences of Kawasaki Disease.  So as well as carefully choosing our research area(s), we also plan to make sure we can put our research findings quickly into practice.

How can I support this, donate or get involved?

Without funding, our research wont be possible! You can make a donation now through our website (use the ‘donate’ button on this page) or download information from our  fundraising page – to help raise the funds we will need.  If you’d like to get involved, please contact us through our contact form, giving as much information as possible on how you want to be involved. The support we need right away is in fundraising.  Can you help?

What about awareness raising – that’s important – so will you carry on with that too?

Yes! Raising awareness of Kawasaki Disease across the general public and medical professions remains our top priority.  Launching this campaign for research won’t distract us from that – we wont stop raising awareness – with your support – until everyone in the U.K. knows about Kawasaki Disease!  That’s “just” 65 million people so we really hope to have your continued support with this work.

How can I stay informed?

We will post regular updates on our fundraising campaign together with research project updates on our website, once we get underway!

I want more information!

Download our ‘Questions of the Heart” outline here to find out more!