2025 Mid-Year Appeal
We need your help to reach our goal of $195,000 by June 30
Today, your gift will fund revolutionary research into our self-regenerating artificial blood vessels, giving families more precious moments together. Every heartbeat matters. Will you help?
"The Baird Institute does such important work and I was grateful that I could contribute to the research they conduct, especially through donating my heart tissue that Professor removed to the Biobank. Whenever I tell my story, while it was one of the hardest times in my life, I am continually filled with gratitude for the amazing medical care I received and the research into my condition to make this surgery possible."
- Paul Colenso
Imagine living every day of your life with a silent ticking time bomb inside you, one you cannot see or feel, yet it could explode without warning. It could happen to anyone: yourself, a loved one, or a friend.
And each year, for the nearly 17,000 Australians who lose their life to heart disease, it does.
Here at The Baird Institute, we are on a mission to ensure that every heartbeat matters. Meet Paul Colenso and his son Brayden, who were unknowingly living with dangerously enlarged aortas. This condition could have ended their lives at any moment.
Paul shares candidly,
“We knew the risks – we lost my father to this condition when he was just 44”.
Paul and Brayden are like many families you may know personally. They are hardworking, loving people who never expected to find themselves in such a terrifying situation. Thankfully, their journey led them to The Baird Institute, Australia’s leading centre for research and clinical excellence in cardiothoracic surgery and heart disease.
In February 2024, Paul underwent critical surgery performed by Professor Paul Bannon to remove and replace his severely enlarged aorta.
Paul recalls vividly,
“Thanks to Professor Bannon and the team at The Baird Institute, my surgery was successful, and I kept my own heart valve.”
But just months later, Paul’s relief turned to heartbreak.
His son Brayden required the same urgent, life-saving operation. At just 23, Brayden’s condition had become critical. Imagine Paul and his wife Katherine’s desperation, knowing their son’s life hung by a thread.
Brayden’s surgery and recovery were more challenging, but thankfully, due to the exceptional care provided by Professor Bannon and the dedicated team at the Baird Institute, Brayden also made a full recovery. Today, both father and son live free from the threat they carried silently for so long. For Paul and Brayden, life has taken on an entirely new meaning. Brayden added:
“I was only 23 when I had my surgery, just six months after my dad’s procedure. Though my recovery took a bit longer than his, we’re both now back to 100% – working full-time in construction again.”
But their story could have ended very differently—and for many Australians and their families out there, it does. That's why your help is urgently needed today.
We’ve made incredible strides, but we won’t stop until no Australian fears dying from heart disease. Every heartbeat matters—mothers, fathers, siblings, and friends. Right now, our researchers are pioneering a groundbreaking self-regenerating artificial blood vessel that could revolutionise treatment for critically damaged blood vessels. With your support, we can turn this breakthrough into reality.
Current synthetic arteries have serious limitations, including stiffness, blood clot risks, and long-term complications. But there is hope. In collaboration with top surgeons, cardiovascular scientists, and engineers, we’ve developed an innovative laboratory made artery designed to improve survival rates. This breakthrough is now in testing, but urgent funding is needed to validate its potential and bring it to those who need it most.
This extraordinary breakthrough could potentially save thousands of lives, including the lives of patients like Paul and Brayden, as well as countless others affected by genetic disorders and life-threatening vascular diseases. Every heartbeat matters to us.
We urgently need to raise $195,000 by 30 June to fund these critical experiments. Without immediate funding, this groundbreaking research could be delayed, prolonging risk and uncertainty for thousands of vulnerable patients and their families. Time can’t wait, families can’t wait…every heartbeat matters. Can you help them?
“Supporting their research is crucial because their work doesn't just develop new treatments, it helps identify life-threatening conditions that might otherwise go undetected until it's too late.”
- Paul Colenso
Your generosity today will save lives tomorrow and help us ensure that we put a stop to lives lost to heart disease. Saving lives and families each heartbeat at a time.
