My sister Margaret McDonagh tragically passed away on Saturday June 24th 2023, two days before her sixty second birthday. She had been diagnosed with a Glioblastoma brain tumour in November 2021 after collapsing at a party.

Margaret was an extraordinary woman. She was the youngest and the first ever female General Secretary of the Labour Party and an incredible female business pioneer. She led Labour Party staff to deliver two General Elections victories in 1997 and 2001 under Tony Blair, delivering two full terms of a Labour Government – the only time that this has ever happened in Labour’s history – and later became Baroness McDonagh of Mitcham and Morden in 2004.

Despite the challenges of her diagnosis, Margaret managed to lay the foundations for her final campaign, another legacy of an extraordinary person. Margaret’s final campaign was to raise the money and support necessary to enable her doctor, Dr Paul Mulholland, Consultant in Medical Oncology and Honorary Associate Professor at the University College Hospital, to continue his research and drug trials to stop glioblastoma being a life-ending diagnosis for over 3,000 people a year.

Paul is developing the use of immunotherapy drugs prior to glioblastoma surgery. Paul’s first patient to use this groundbreaking approach, Ben Trotman, defied all expectations for patients with glioblastoma and is now a father to beautiful baby Mabel!

Since her death, we have continued with Margaret’s Final Campaign. In 2024 we raised over £1,000,000 to help fund trials, including through multiple small and medium-sized gifts from generous supporters like you. We launched the first round of trials, which is currently accepting referrals for pre-surgery patients, and are preparing the ground for the crucial second round of trials.

Your support will be vital to make the second round a reality. Anything you can do to help us win Margaret’s Final Campaign, from donating here to raising funds through sponsored events, for example, will help us get over the line. Every penny of profit raised in Margaret's memory will be spent in Dr Paul Mulholland’s department on the research and drug trials that will help other patients in the future.

By donating you will be joining us as part of Margaret’s Final Campaign Team. Together we will end the devastation glioblastoma causes and extend life expectancy using new approaches to treatment.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Siobhain McDonagh

Glioblastoma Research Group | UCL Cancer Institute - UCL – University College London