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- Posted Thursday December 13, 2018
TGen receives PayPal grant for ‘Hope Fund’
$10,000 will help cover cost of genetic tests for children with rare disorders
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Dec. 13, 2018 — The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, today announced a $10,000 grant from PayPal Gives, which will help underwrite the costs of genetic tests for children with rare disorders.
Establishment of the PayPal Hope Fund at TGen’s Center for Rare Childhood Disorders (C4RCD) will address a critical need in the Arizona community. As many as 30 percent of children with rare disorders do not live to age 5. The PayPal Hope Fund will provide low-income children with an opportunity to receive state-of-the-art genetic testing in hopes of finding a diagnosis and determining a personalized treatment plan.
TGen’s C4RCD collaborates with pediatricians and children’s hospitals throughout Arizona to identify children who would be candidates for genetic testing. The PayPal Hope Fund will provide answers for many families and possibly save the lives of many fragile children.
“Genomic sequencing has revolutionized our approach to diagnosis for children with undiagnosed diseases, but there are still too many children and families who do not have access to this technology,” said Dr. Vinodh Narayanan, Medical Director for TGen’s C4RCD. “The funds available to our center through the Hope Fund enables us to bring the latest in genomic methods to these families in need.”
The Hope Fund at TGen was made possible through PayPal’s GIVE Team program, which empowers employees globally to support the communities in which they live and work through volunteerism and employee-sponsored grants. With 35 GIVE Teams worldwide, employees annually recommend more than $1 million in grants, which are then distributed to benefitting organizations through PayPal Gives.
“PayPal Gives helps us extend the positive impact we seek to have as a company and actively contribute to and strengthen communities around the world,” said Julie Vennewitz-Pierce, Director of PayPal Gives. “We’re proud to support a wide variety of programs around the world, each of which helps build stronger, more inclusive communities that enable greater opportunity for individuals and families. TGen’s Center for Rare Childhood Disorders is a great example of this effort, and we’re pleased to support their work.”
The $10,000 grant to TGen’s C4RCD was recommended by the PayPal’s Scottsdale GIVE Team.
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About PayPal Gives
Funded by corporate contributions, PayPal Gives is one of the ways PayPal steps forward to further our social impact objectives and actively support our communities across the globe. PayPal Gives supports and amplifies PayPal employees’ efforts to better the neighborhoods in which they live and work through charitable giving, volunteering and fundraising.
About TGen, an affiliate of City of Hope
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. TGen is affiliated with City of Hope, a world-renowned independent research and cancer and diabetes treatment center: www.cityofhope.org. This precision medicine affiliation enables both institutes to complement each other in research and patient care, with City of Hope providing a significant clinical setting to advance scientific discoveries made by TGen. TGen is focused on helping patients with neurological disorders, cancer, diabetes, and infectious diseases, through cutting edge translational research (the process of rapidly moving research towards patient benefit). TGen physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of both common and rare complex diseases in adults and children. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities literally worldwide, TGen makes a substantial contribution to help our patients through efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. For more information, visit: www.tgen.org. Follow TGen on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @TGen.
About TGen’s Center for Rare Childhood Disorders
Undiagnosed genetic disorders are invisible killers. Nearly 1 in 150 American children have a rare disease. More than 30 million Americans live with one of an estimated 7,000 rare conditions — more than cancer and AIDS combined. On average, a family searches eight years and visits 10 specialists to find a diagnosis. If they are among the few to receive an accurate diagnosis, they find that effective treatments do not exist: 95 percent of rare diseases do not have a single, FDA-approved therapy. These diagnostic odysseys take a tremendous toll on children, their families and our healthcare system. In five short years, TGen’s Center has cared for more than 500 families, using our advanced genetic sequencing technology and scientific expertise to determine an accurate diagnosis, and when possible, to find tailored treatments that save children’s lives. Unfortunately, many families cannot afford this kind of treatment, which is not usually covered by insurance. The critical need for TGen’s Center is to secure funding for genetic testing.
Media Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
