Value proposition

The UK's leading charity fighting mitochondrial disease.

The Lily Foundation

The Lily Foundation is the UK's leading charity dedicated to fighting mitochondrial disease. We’re working towards a world in which every mitochondrial disease patient has a voice and access to treatment, support to improve their life and, ultimately, a cure. 10 million people in the UK suffer from diseases in which mitochondrial dysfunction is believed to be involved, and every other day in the UK a baby is born that will develop mitochondrial disease. The Lily Foundation is fighting to change this.

What's Mitochondrial Disease?

Mitochondrial disease is a severely life-limiting genetic condition that can affect any person at any time in their life. The term in fact refers not to one specific illness but to a number of diseases caused by faulty mitochondria, the tiny 'organelles'​ present in every cell in our bodies and which are responsible for generating over 90% of the energy we need to live.

When mitochondria fail it can affect any part of the body in a variety of devastating ways. This makes it difficult to diagnose as the symptoms can mimic other serious illnesses. For example, someone suffering from mitochondrial disease might suffer symptoms such as poor growth, muscle weakness and pain, seizures, vision and / or hearing loss, gastrointestinal issues, learning disabilities or organ failure.
There is currently no cure for mitochondrial disease. However, it's not all bad news. Important steps have been made to make diagnosis faster, easier and less invasive to the patient, and some promising research into effective treatments is underway. The more we learn about mitochondrial disease the closer we will be to one day finding a cure.