
The opportunity was also taken by Christoph Kummerli (pictured with Charity Patron Kelvin Davis) to introduce the latest research project to be funded by LAPR&D. As well as supporting Christoph and his fellow research student Alma Moekotte for 2 years, the charity is also funding the RESTORE trial. The trail will test the viability of restoring the spleen function when it is removed during surgery, often as part of pancreatic cancer surgery. Christoph explained "the spleen performs an important function in purifying blood and is a key functions in immune response to fight infection. When a patient loses their spleen during surgery, they require regular vaccination and a lifelong commitment to antibiotics to replicate the important function of the spleen. This research project will test the viability of reimplanting part of the healthy spleen into a pocket that we form inside the patient to see if it will recover and begin to reperform it's functions".
The trail will take 6-12 months and will be supervised by Professor Primrose at Southampton University Hospital with Professor Hilal performing the role of Chief Investigator.
Guests also bought charity Christmas cards and lapel badges to contribute towards a superb £1,755 raised on the evening and further volunteers came forward to assist the charity with their future work.
A further grant application to extend the liver stem cell research programme already supported by LAPR&D is also under consideration.