You can help us make a positive difference
Your generous gift will allow The Baird Institute to continue critical life-saving research into aortic disease.
Will you stand in someone else’s corner when they need you most?
Imagine living since the day you were five with the thought that, eventually, you will need to undergo major heart surgery. The comment you have to live with from the doctors is “One Day.”
Well, for Ross, this was a daily reality. He was diagnosed with the aortic disease, Marfan Syndrome, at the age of five. He faced yearly check-ups with ultrasounds and ECGs, wearing glasses and insoles, and became incredibly self-conscious throughout his childhood and adolescence with the physically apparent symptoms exhibited by Marfan Syndrome.
Early last year, at the age of 32, Ross was planning his wedding and was in a new role in his career when everything needed to be placed on hold.
That day had arrived.
Ross' story
Having grown up with Marfan Syndrome, I became accustomed to knowing that one day I would likely need to undergo heart surgery. A common symptom of Marfan Syndrome is a dilating aorta which, if not diagnosed and treated, can prove fatal should a dissection happen. The comment from specialists about surgery was always one day, until October 2020 when Professor Richmond Jeremy, my specialist for the 8 years I have been in Australia, confirmed that it was time to go ahead with the surgery for the best chances of a positive outcome.
Thanks to the researchers at The Baird Institute and people just like you, Ross no longer must spend his days worrying.
He underwent that open heart surgery. Surgeries like this would not have been possible fifty years ago – the research being done at The Baird Institute saved Ross’s life.
For Ross, I can’t tell you how much this meant. A new lease on life. A second chance. You know, we all want that second chance when we need it most.
But here is something you may not know: The Baird Institute can’t do this life-saving research without your help. That’s the plain truth. The kind of research you find at The Baird Institute is world-class: state-of-the-art research conducted by top researchers in their field. Their research has led to advances in determining the inherited and social factors that cause the development of aortic aneurysm disease and interventions to stop that process.
And, contrary to what you may think, we don’t receive any government funding to do this work.
That is why I am asking that you make a tax-deductible gift today – as much as you can afford – to help The Baird Institute continue this life-saving research.
Your gift will be put immediately to work. We are well placed to undertake some ground-breaking research that will result in a significant advancement for science and a substantial benefit for those living with aortic disease, but we need your help.
Your generous gift of $50, $200, or $500 will go directly towards our Aortic Research Team. This team plans to build a synthetic aorta, with the objective being to determine what the important characteristics of the native aorta are and to try to create a better one. The team has to be supported by PhD students, so we need to raise $100,000 by June 30 to fund at least one Ph.D. student. Without this funding, this critical life-saving research will not happen.
If you believe in the life-saving work of The Baird Institute as much as I do, please follow your heart, and give with as much generosity as you can manage. Every gift is appreciated…and will save even more lives.
Ross is very grateful for all our donors who saved his life. Since his surgery, he has married, had a baby of his own, and his new career is off to a great start. He always worried that he might not be as fortunate as this. You can read Ross’ full story below.
It could happen to any one of us. We just don’t know. And then suddenly, your life is put on hold. That is when The Baird Institute matters most. Please give today.
With my sincere thanks and appreciation,
Professor Paul Bannon PhD MB BS FRACS
Head of Cardiothoracic Department,
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Chair, The Baird Institute
