According to a story from the Translation Genomics Research Institute (TGen), the organization was recently awarded a grant of $10,000 from PayPal Gives. The funding will be allocated towards funding critical diagnositic genetic tests for kids with rare diseases. TGen, which is an affiliate of the City of Hope, is at the cutting edge of the latest biomedical research in the state of Arizona and in the US more broadly. This non-profit group has been conducting research since its founding in 2002. Its studies have focused on areas such as neurological disorders, cancer, infectious disease, diabetes, and more. City of Hope is a highly regarded cancer and diabetes treatment and research center.
The Paypal Hope Fund
The new grant will be established as the Paypal Hope Fund as part of the organization’s Center for Rare Childhood Disorders. The funding will help address an urgent need for the rare disease community in Arizona. Nearly 30 percent of kids born with rare disorders do not survive past age five. In some cases, this is largely due to challenges in treatment access and getting an accurate diagnosis. The fund will help low-income kids in the state with rare diseases to get the genetic testing that they need in order to be diagnosed promptly and begin receiving the treatment that they need.
The Center for Rare Childhood Disorders
The center works with doctors and pediatricians throughout the state in order to determine if a child is in need of genetic testing in order to be diagnosed. This funding will help distressed families find answers to mysterious and frightening symptoms and potentially save young lives. Genome sequencing is extremely valuable for diagnosing rare genetic disorders, but getting access to testing can be a challenge for some patients. Children are disproportionately affected by rare diseases. Approximately 80 percent of rare diseases are genetic in origin, and one in every 150 kids in the US has a rare disease. Nearly ten percent of Americans have one of 7,000 rare diseases.
To learn more about the activities of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, click here.
To learn more about the activities of the City of Hope, click here.
