Thanks for visiting my JustGiving page. I hope you will be able to spare a moment and better still a donation to The Hepatitis C Trust, the charity I have chosen to support.

 I am a doctor and work for a Community Drug Service.  In February this year, I made a solo ascent of Aconcagua, monarch of the South American Andes and highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas. At 22,840ft, the mountain is also the second highest of the world’s seven continental high points - and I reached the summit on Thursday 17th February after an exhausting 10 hour climb from my highest camp on the mountain. 

 I decided to use my climb as an opportunity to raise funds for The Hepatitis C Trust, the only UK charity dedicated to raising awareness of a very dangerous but treatable liver infection, described as a ‘viral time-bomb’.

UK health services have been estimated as treating a dismal 1% of those eligible for treatment of hep c (France achieves 8%). The pool of those infected has been estimated as growing at 5 times the rate of numbers being treated.

It has been estimated that around 90% of those suffering from hep c are unaware that they have it - so increased detection is a key issue to address in order to up treatment rates. 

The virus is acquired via infected blood and, after smouldering quietly for 2-3 decades, advances into potentially fatal liver cirrhosis or cancer.

Many hep C patients are past or present injecting drug users (a third of my patients have the infection) – but substantial numbers acquire it via other means, such as blood transfusion before blood products started to be screened for the virus in 1991, or through childhood exposure in certain high risk parts of the world.

 The Hepatitis C Trust is working towards averting the public health catastrophe which could result if the viral time-bomb runs unchecked. It also provides valuable support to patients, who may be bewildered by a diagnosis poorly understood and sadly, even stigmatised by some healthcare providers. If the UK is to even catch up with modest French achievements, then your support of this charity is a step in the right direction – and a donation will be very gratefully received.

 Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now!

Many thanks, Mark Hallam