Tax Appeal 2022
Many people may have heard of the disease preeclampsia, but may not know the devastation it can cause to a mother and her baby. Preeclampsia attacks a mother’s organs during pregnancy — her kidneys, liver, lungs and brain — too often resulting in her unborn baby losing the fight for life.
Thanks to people like you, who generously support Mercy Perinatal, we are making incredible progress in finding a cure to preeclampsia.
Without a cure 500,000 unborn babies and 70,000 pregnant mothers will continue to die each year because of preeclampsia. These figures are almost too big to fathom. For Shannon Boland, it all comes down to just one baby.
In 2020, this Werribee mother tragically lost her daughter, Mia, due to preeclampsia. She says the pain of losing a baby never goes away.
“Our beautiful little girl Mia was born on 29 September 2020. Instead of waiting in anticipation for her to cry after labour, my husband and I were mourning our loss. She was unwell but she was a perfect, beautiful girl.”
There is some hope. Gifts like yours have allowed us to make exciting progress.
Late last year, the prestigious British Medical Journal published breakthrough findings from Mercy Perinatal’s trials to treat preeclampsia.
It was a breakthrough moment for our Melbourne colleagues at Mercy Perinatal and in Cape Town, South Africa where preeclampsia rates in pregnant women are among the highest in the world. It’s exciting that this spark of hope for mothers and babies around the world is being led by our very own Aussie research team at Mercy Perinatal.
The world-first discovery suggests that a simple, cheap tablet — metformin—slows the effects of preeclampsia before it causes life-threatening injuries to a mother.
In late 2021, Shannon gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Hudson. His arrival coincided with the international news of our clinical breakthrough — one which could save many mothers worldwide from the grief she had endured.
Our next trial to confirm these important findings is due to start soon. It will be our largest and most important trial yet.
If our findings are confirmed, it may mean that metformin could be used to save the lives of thousands of mothers and their infants, however we need your financial support to give us the best chance of success.
As we come to the end of the financial year, please consider making a donation to support the life-saving research being conducted by Mercy Perinatal.
At Mercy Perinatal we are determined to overcome this tragic disease, but we need your continued support.
Please help us bring more mothers and babies, like Shannon and Hudson, safely home.
Thank you for supporting Mercy Perinatal in our groundbreaking research to save mothers and babies.
 |
 |
| Professor Sue Walker AO Co-director Mercy Perinatal |
Professor Stephen Tong Co-director Mercy Perinatal |
Donations above $2 received before 30 June are tax deductible when you submit your tax return this financial year.
Last reviewed May 6, 2022.