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10 years of helping children beat cancer

Gift of Life is turning 10 in March. Join #LifeSavingBirthday to celebrate this anniversary and support children in their fight with cancer.

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Gift of Life was founded on 2 March 2011 in the UK as a sister charity to Russia’s most prominent children’s foundation Podari Zhizn. In our first decade we’ve supported over 550 applications for ‘life-saving’ medicine and non-medical treatment, helped over 460 children and young adults with cancer and other blood diseases, provided education programmes for dozens of Russian doctors and a whole lot more.

This March we’d like to say a huge thank you to all the friends and supporters who have been with us throughout the years. To celebrate this milestone, we are proud to launch our #LifeSavingBirthday campaign to continue providing young patients in Russian hospitals with life-saving medicine otherwise unavailable in the country.

Any birthday needs a celebration. And we invite you to join us. Choose your way to mark it:

Celebrate with friends

This March, pick the day that suits you and host a #LifeSavingBirthday party to celebrate Gift of Life achievements over 10 years of saving children’s lives. Lockdown shouldn’t get in the way of having fun with your loved ones. Bake a cake or organise a virtual high tea party, raising funds to help children.

Take on a challenge

Test your willpower, whilst helping children beat cancer. Choose your challenge – anything from training for a marathon or giving up coffee for a month to learning a new skill (or you can even teach your pet one!) And invite your friends to sponsor your efforts. This will be your present for our #LifeSavingBirthday.

Donate your birthday

Turn your special day into a #LifeSavingBirthday by asking friends and family to help children beat cancer instead of spending money on presents. After all, the best present is the gift of life. And your birthday is a perfect occasion to remember it.

You can choose to do these or anything else that catches your fancy. Any way you can help can make a difference to the lives of children and young adults fighting against cancer. Click to join https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/lifesavingbirthday


Our goal is to raise £20,000. This can mean so much to our young patients:

  • £20,000 covers two treatments of radioactive iodine MIBG, which is used to treat neuroendocrine tumours, such as neuroblastoma
  • £20,000 pays for a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor when no medications and other methods of cancer treatment are effective
  • £20,000 provides forty vials of Defitelio, a drug which supports liver function after a bone marrow transplant

£20,000 has already helped each of these patients:

Grigory Krost, 3 years old

had neuroblastoma and required treatment of radioactive iodine MIBG

Nastya Veselova, 12 years old

has genetic diseases that required bone marrow transplantation from an unrelated donor

Bilyal Shidakov, 1,5 years old

has severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and required a course of Defitelio

And with your support today we can help more children like Nastya, Grigory and Bilyal.

Our present to you

If this isn’t motivation enough, to thank our friends and supporters, we’ll enter all campaign participants into a raffle with some wonderful prizes provided by Gift of Life partners. Stay tuned to learn about the prizes.

1st Prize

A perfect treat from RECHARGE ROOMS

A new generation of wellness boutiques invites you to experience cutting-edge procedures focused on strengthening immunity, boosting energy levels, and stimulating brain activity. You will enjoy:

  • Ozonetherapy session in the unique ozone sauna (30min)
  • First of its kind in the UK Mesojet Skin treatment “Power Antiage” (60min)
  • Lunch with a glass of Champagne at the lounge of The Laslett Hotel in the heart of Notting Hill
  • 10% discount for Pilates, Yoga or EMS session

2nd Prize

The Charitable Bookings 365 Signature Dish recipe book including 754 pages of 365 of the UK’s leading chefs signature dish recipes. A coffee table hardback edition with an autograph by celebrity-chef and Gift of Life friend Alexei Zimin.

3rd Prize

A bottle of Champagne Pommery Brut Royal – the essence of the Pommery style: liveliness, fresh, finesse.


Join our #LifeSavingBirthday campaign today and together we beat child cancer!

Click to join the campaign