Newsroom

Since Michael’s death and decision to donate his brain and spine to research, Swifty has heard again and again from researchers about the dire need for donated post-mortem brain tissue to study. Even when funding for research is available, without tissue, the hands of medical researchers are tied. This remains one of the largest obstacles toward finding a cure, and Swifty is determined to remove this barrier through our Gift from a Child initiative.

GFAC partners with the Children’s Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium, the world’s largest pediatric brain tumor research network. There are five Centers of Excellence that act as regional sites for the coordination, processing and storage of donated tissue. The five sites are: CHOP, Lurie, Children’s National, Stanford and NY Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medicine.

We are working at facilitating collaboration in the field of childhood cancer research: collaboration between the many foundations funding pediatric cancer research, collaboration among research institutions and collaboration between researchers. Historically, research has been funded using a model based on competition. That funding model must change to gain momentum toward finding a cure.

Swifty funds several promising recurrent medulloblastoma research projects. This is the disease Michael succumbed to and it has a dismal and unacceptable 5 percent survival rate.