2026 Mid-Year Appeal
What a difference your gift can make...
A year ago, Roger Jowett hiked 70 kilometres of the Larapinta Trail with his daughter and granddaughter. Today, he’s recovering from triple bypass surgery. Heart disease gives no warning – and it doesn’t care how fit you are.
Your urgent gift before 30 June will fund a dedicated postdoctoral researcher and sustain our cardiac regeneration research for the next 18 months.
With your support, more people like Roger can have a second chance. Will you help us achieve our $229,000 target?
$229,0000
Twelve months ago, Roger Jowett was basking in the afterglow of one of his proudest achievements. He had just completed a 70-kilometre hike along the Larapinta Trail in the Northern Territory with his daughter and granddaughter. Three generations walking side by side, each separated by exactly 25 years. It is the kind of memory you hold onto for life.
Roger had every reason to believe he was healthy. He was fit, active, and by any measure doing everything right. But heart disease does not follow the rules.
Roger's Story
Let me share more of Roger’s story.
When elevated blood pressure readings raised concern, Roger did the right thing and sought further testing. What they found changed everything.
He had a genetic condition that had silently impaired his body’s ability to process bad cholesterol his entire life, and he now needed heart bypass surgery.
Roger had no symptoms. No chest pains. No shortness of breath. Nothing to suggest anything was wrong. Yet without intervention, the outcome could have been devastating.
He underwent a successful triple bypass with the cardiac team connected to The Baird Institute. Now, five weeks into a personalised rehabilitation program, his doctors expect a full recovery.
What a difference a year makes.
It’s a powerful reminder: even those like you or me who appear completely healthy can carry life-threatening conditions without knowing it.
“My experience highlights the fact that heart issues are of concern to the many rather than the few. From all appearances, I was an unlikely candidate for heart problems,” shares Roger.
His message is clear: heart disease can be invisible, hiding behind health and an active lifestyle, even among those who do everything right. Each year, nearly 17,000 Australians die from heart disease, many never knowing their risk.
That is exactly why research matters. That is exactly why your gift matters.
The Baird Institute is Australia’s leading centre for research and clinical excellence in cardiothoracic surgery and heart disease. For more than two decades, our surgeons, cardiologists, and scientists have pioneered treatments and surgical techniques that save lives.
Roger’s story could have ended very differently. But thanks to ongoing cardiac research, his surgical team had the tools and knowledge to save his life.
The genetic condition discovered during his testing is now the focus of active research. Research made the difference for Roger and with your help, it will do the same for thousands more.
But we urgently need to raise $229,000 by 30 June to fund a dedicated postdoctoral researcher and keep this cardiac regeneration work going for the next 18 months.
Without immediate funding, this research will stall. Years of momentum will be lost, and patients counting on the next breakthrough will be left waiting.
Time cannot wait. Families cannot wait. Research cannot wait.
Every dollar you give before 30 June fuels the research that finds what is hidden, treats what is urgent, and saves what matters most: the people we love.
People like Roger are counting on you.
Donate Now
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NAB
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Donate by Mail
Simply download a donation form using the link below, complete it, place it in an envelope and send to:
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