LIBRA is the ‘Lions International Blood Research Appeal’ and it was founded in 1976. Two years later, Lions Clubs in the South East of England agreed to support us and established a Charitable Trust, devoted to LIBRA. Our aim is to raise funds for the Department of Haematological Medicine at King’s College Hospital for equipment that is vital for developing new treatments. With the support of Lions Clubs and the public we have already raised more than £500,000.
As a forward-thinking organisation, we are investigating ways to gain supporters and also increase funds. We are determined to hit a fundraising target of £249,000 as it will go towards an ‘Acorns to Oaks’ project, launched by King’s to raise money for diagnostic and technical support equipment.
We work closely with Professor Ghulam Mufti, the Head of the Haematology Unit and his fantastic team. The various pieces of equipment that we help to provide are used by the professor Mufti and a team of nine other professors who are experts in various medical fields, including gene therapy, stem cell biology and bone marrow transplantation.
Lions Clubs throughout the South East and beyond support LIBRA and you can find out more about the world's largest service organisation by following these links:-
http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/index.php
"LIBRA has provided wonderful support to King’s over many years and this has helped to establish a Haematology Department that excels in clinical, diagnostics and research and development. It’s now recognised internationally as a centre of excellence. That’s quite an achievement for any charity!"
Anwar Alhaq, Divisional Manager at King’s College Hospital