Members of the Farnham Lions joined trustees of the Lions International Blood Research Appeal in London for an update on blood cancer research.

The trio of Jane Langton, Alyson Deadman and Rosemary Morris met up with 30 other Lions from across the south east for the recent update at King’s College Hospital.

They were given a presentation and tour to showcase the amazing work that internationally-renowned haematology expert Professor Roopen Arya and his team have been doing.

The trio were particularly fascinated to learn about treatments such as CAR-T cells to treat blood cancers. These CAR-T cells are modified patient cells that recognise cancer cells and destroy them.

The Lions are staunch supporters of the hospital and its work as they’ve raised more than two thirds of the £300,000 needed to buy specialist equipment.

The earmarked Apheresis machine separates blood components to boost the treatment process of fighting blood cancers, with the fundraising total currently standing at £210,000.

The Lions have raised funds for the hospital appeal alongside Olympic gold-winning ambassador Dame Kelly Holmes who sadly lost her mother to blood cancer.

“We rely on Lions International (LIBRA) to help fund our research programmes and with its continued support we can find new ways to tackle blood disorders and cancers,” said professor Ghulam Mufti.

“Without the long-term support from LIBRA we wouldn’t have been able to open our new Cell Therapy Unit which is vital for the development of new and improved treatments for leukaemia and allied blood cancers.”

The Lions are keen on providing financial support to a ground-breaking sickle cell research project.

The organisation also gave £110,000 to King’s College Hospital to help towards the costs of refurbishing of one of the wards opened by Dame Kelly Homes earlier this year.