Why we need your help

University Hospitals Birmingham Charity exists to support the patients of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

We rely entirely on the generous support of individuals and organisations to help us provide extra equipment, research and facilities at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Heartlands Hospital, Good Hope Hospital and Solihull Hospital, which are over and above core NHS services.

We need your support to continue to change the lives of patients.

 YPU – Anie Hu 

We need you to help us support young people with cancer

Thanks to your donations Anie Hu, a 20-year-old from Hall Green, Birmingham, is enjoying her second year at the University of York.

The studious teen, currently studying History and French, was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia.

Anie was treated on the Teenage Cancer Trust Young Persons Unit (YPU) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, from 2012 to 2014.

Due to the severity of her illness and subsequent treatment, Anie was forced to postpone her education. However, at the age of 18, she was helped back into her learning by a specialist teacher who is funded by your donations.

Lisa Conley teaches patients on YPU, offering support and advice on a wide range of topics, from writing CVs to sitting exams. Your donations meant that Lisa was able to help Anie with her A-Level courses, whilst she received treatment at QEHB.

Anie said: “Lisa’s role in my recovery was pivotal to my wellbeing. She helped get my life back on track... I would not be at University without her. I am lucky to have had Lisa’s help throughout and am very proud of us both for achieving three A’s!”

Without your help, Anie would not be able to attend university. Help us continue to fund a teacher for teenagers with cancer. Please donate here

 Fisher House

We need you to help us be there for military families

In late September 2013, Kerry Ford, a 46-year-old teacher, was in the Falkland Islands going about her daily life, while her veteran husband Nobby was undergoing an operation to remove scar tissue left over from an earlier procedure at another hospital.

Nobby suffered a carotid artery blow out, an unexpected complication causing brain damage, following the operation.

By the time Kerry had completed her journey to Birmingham – more than 8,000 miles from home – Nobby was in an induced coma.

Kerry said: “I had nowhere close by to stay. Friends that I had were over three hours’ drive away and I needed to be near Nobby, to stay with him throughout the day. Staying at Fisher House was a godsend, and it proved to be even more so as time went on.

“The support you get from the team at Fisher House is phenomenal – they are there to listen to you, through the good times and the bad. They understand and empathise with the situation that you are in and the other families staying there all come together. It’s like having an extended family.”

Without your help, Kerry would not be able to be by her husband’s bedside through his 18-month recovery. Help us continue to fund Fisher House for people like her. Click here to donate

 Transplantation

We need your help to get organs to patients faster 

Francis Tavernor, a retired history teacher and later an employee in an NHS occupational therapy department, aged 64, from Herefordshire, underwent a liver transplant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham on Boxing Day, 26 December 2012, after suffering from ulcerative colitis and then PSC (primary sclerosing cholangitis) for over four decades. By early 2012, Francis was in desperate need of a new liver in order to save his life.

Christmas Day of 2012 saw the pair considering that this could be their last Christmas together.
“We sat and talked, we held hands, and we cried. We really thought it was our last Christmas together; I had only a few months left.”

Unbeknownst to the brave couple, everything was about to change. At 10:20pm on Christmas Day, as Francis was preparing to go to bed, the phone rang.

Eileen said: “I picked up the receiver to hear the words, ‘We may have a belated Christmas present for you.’”

Francis and Eileen made the 90 minute journey to QEHB and, to their joy and relief, Francis finally underwent the successful transplant on Boxing Day morning.

Without your help, Francis and Eileen would have had their last Christmas together. Help us continue to get organs to patients faster by fundraising for revolutionary life-saving equipment. Please donate here