I'm raising £250,000 for The SHINE project to be run at UEL

Every other person in the world is a woman, of whom 1 in 3 will suffer anaemia in their lifetime, often for an average of 8 years with 2-3 years on iron tablets. Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) is a WHO top 5 cause of disability in women (18-50 years), equivalent to having diabetes. The commonest cause is Heavy Menstrual Bleeding, that affect 1 in 3 women. Unfortunately, HMB is not talked about and often unrecognised, yet it causes mental and physical anguish for women AND iron deficiency.

At present there is no charity or central place for women to get the correct advice on how to identify and treat HMB or IDA.

To address this we have developed a screening tool that comprises a short Female Health Questionnaire (FHQ) which combined with a finger prick blood test can identify women with HMB and IDA.

The SHINE project launched at the University of East London with > 1000 female students screened. We identified that 1 in 3 women had Heavy Menstrual Bleeding and 22% had iron deficiency anaemia. This had a direct impact on their mental health with increased reported anxiety and depression with more time off work and studies.

SHINE funded a 'SHINE ambassador' to educate women and the correct treatments. To provide women with the knowledge to enable and guide them to get the correct treatment options from their pharmacist or GP (and not be fobbed off or ignored). This has been met with significant uptake.

i. £4 finger prick blood test for haemoglobin

ii. £8 finger prick blood test for ferritin

iii. £120 Formal blood test for women (Full Blood Count, Electrolytes, liver, thyroid, B12 folate, iron studies)

iv. £20 Oral tranexamic acid for a woman for six months

v. £20 Oral iron tablets for a woman for six months

vi. £590 IV iron infusion

vii. £300 Training and supporting a SHINE ambassador

viii. £600 per month for SHINE ambassador at university 10 hours per week to promote talks education and advice