A man whose sight was restored by donated corneas has encouraged people to consider eye donation after death. Cornea transplants can help people with partial or total blindness, and about 6,000 people across the UK are waiting for one.
Audrey Joughlin, now 96, started working for the NHS in 1948 and still volunteers at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, where she runs a book trolley service for patients. Her colleagues describe her dedication as remarkable, and she says volunteering makes her feel appreciated.
Students in Nottingham have started an alcohol-free night at a city centre gym, combining workouts with a live DJ. The launch event drew 250 students, and the gym owner said the response exceeded his expectations.
Charlie Tobey, who has had three liver transplants, is training to run the London Marathon to raise awareness of organ donation. He is one of five runners aiming to raise £15,000 for Split - Children's Liver Fund, a charity he helped set up after his third transplant. Tobey says he has been able to live a happy and normal life.
A holiday park in Fife has raised nearly £7000 for a Scottish stroke and heart charity.
Simon Morris from Cardiff paid for a heart scan through a Welsh charity, which revealed a blocked artery and a silent heart attack he had not known about. He had an angioplasty, completed cardiac rehabilitation, and is now climbing Snowdon to raise money for Calon Hearts UK, the charity that provided the scan.
A charity netball tournament in Northamptonshire has raised almost £5,000 for Bowel Cancer UK. The fundraising effort supports a cause focused on bowel cancer research and awareness.
Vian, a 16-year-old from Coventry, has thalassaemia and no longer needs the monthly blood transfusions she relied on for most of her childhood after gene editing treatment using her own stem cells. She has regained her energy, has started studying health and social care at college, and hopes to become a nurse. Another teenager, JoelSamuel, is at the start of the same kind of treatment for sickle cell disease, and his family hopes it will help him.
Researchers at King's College London found that urolithin A, a compound the body makes after eating foods like pomegranates and walnuts, may help treat a common type of heart failure. In animal and laboratory tests it improved heart relaxation and reduced scarring, and the work was funded by the British Heart Foundation. The team stressed that people should not eat pomegranates to treat heart failure yet, but the findings open the door to new treatments.
