Who are we?
What is mitochondrial disease?
Mitochondrial disease, or ‘mito’ for short, refers to a group of disorders where dysfunctional mitochondria are present, resulting in a variety of developmental, muscular and brain abnormalities. Mitochondrial disease is a genetic, chronic condition that is sadly progressive and can affect anyone at any time in their life. Symptoms of the disease vary hugely between individuals, but the most common symptoms are fatigue, neurological problems, visual and/or hearing impairment, heart, liver or kidney dysfunction, muscle weakness and poor growth, to name but a few. There are very few treatments for mitochondrial diseases and there is currently no cure.
Did you know?
“1 in 2,000 people will face a diagnosis of mitochondrial disease.”
Did you know?
“The first diagnosis of mitochondrial disease was in 1962, but research only began to take place within the last 20 years.”
Did you know?
“1 in 10 people have a rare disease.”
Did you know?
“Mitochondrial disease can cause symptoms in any organ at any age.”
Did you know?
“Many diseases stem from mitochondria dysfunction, including Alzheimers, Parkinson’s, diabetes and autism.”
Play our Lottery
Be in with a chance of winning £25,000!
Thanks to people like you playing our lottery, we are able to invest more funds into pioneering research, and aim to achieve our goal of one day finding that all elusive cure. Your contributions also go towards our family support, helping to provide a brighter mito future for our families because mito matters.
Charlie's Law
Charlie’s tragic death on 28th July 2017 exposed the limitations of current processes available to parents, doctors and the NHS in efforts to ensure the best outcomes for seriously ill children. Charlie’s fight highlighted an urgent need for changes in the law, policy and legal and health practice to support families, as well as medical and legal professionals involved in what are deeply emotive, difficult and life-changing circumstances.
Charlie’s parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, have been working with NHS medical professionals, world-leading ethicists and legal experts to develop draft legislation that will prevent further long and painful conflicts between hospitals and families with sick children.
The bill provides three key changes to improve existing legislation. Charlie’s Law will:
Monkey Adventures!
Raise awareness and show everyone where your Monkey has been on their adventures with our Monkey Map. We’d love to know where in the world are our mito monkeys!
Would you like a Monkey of your own? Visit our shop today!
Upcoming Events
Charlie’s Cheeky Relay Run
4th August – 31st August 2020
Happy Birthday, Charlie! August 4th 2020 marks what would have been Charlie's fourth birthday. Each year we have celebrated Charlie's birthday with a...
Liverpool FC Signed Shirt Raffle
Wednesday 5th August
We are delighted to be raffling this official Liverpool shirt signed by the champions of this season's Premiere League winners! This is a...
Ten-Prize Raffle
Sunday 19th July
***THIS RAFFLE HAS NOW BEEN DRAWN*** To celebrate our shiny new website, we've launched a shiny new raffle! We have ten amazing prizes...
Daniel’s Charity Skydive
Sunday 20th September 2020
On Sunday 20th September 2020 a team of brave individuals will participate in a group skydive to help raise funds for Daniel's and...
Daniel’s Charity Firewalk
Saturday 21st November 2020
On Saturday 21st November we will have a fantastically fiery Firewalk event for you all – pandemic permitting! It's £10 to register and...
G.N.R – Team Charlie 2020
Sunday, 13th September 2020
It's the Great North Run's 40th year anniversary in 2020 and we'll have a team of 40 to run for the foundation in...
Maxwell’s Charity Skydive
Saturday 12th September 2020
On Saturday 12th September 2020 a team of brave individuals will participate in a group skydive to help raise funds for Maxwell's cause....
Maxwell’s Charity Firewalk
14th November 2020
On Saturday 14th November we will have a fantastically fiery Firewalk event for you all – pandemic permitted! It's £10 to register and...
Our Latest News
Charlie’s Gifting Week
September 26th – October 2nd 2020 sees the return of our annual gifting week in Charlie's memory. Throughout this week we offer families...
Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week
Awareness around the world for mitochondrial disease was spread from September 13-19th 2020 with a variety of social media campaigns, culminating in Light...
From heartache to miracle
Rags Martel has been a supporter for Charlie's cause from the start, so it was wonderful to be able to share the 'heartache...
Our new baby Ollie has ‘lit up our lives’
Connie and Chris were delighted to be invited on This Morning to chat to Phillip and Holly about some fantastically positive news: their...
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