Wind farm benefit fund provides £15k grant to Viking Genes
COMMUNITY benefit money from the Viking wind farm worth £15,000 is heading towards a local genetic screening project.
The money has been granted to the University of Edinburgh’s development trust in support of the Viking Genes community screening project.
Professor Jim Wilson, who leads the Viking Genes project, said the funding is the “very definition of a community benefit”.
Locally the Viking wind farm fund pays out £2.2 million a year to community projects.
Announced last year, the new Viking Genes initiative aims to build on previous work and offer 5,000 Shetlanders free genetic screening to identify elevated risks of life-threatening conditions and guide volunteers to appropriate NHS care.
It will also highlight carriers of genetic variants that could be passed on to future generations.
Community leaders are working to raise £1 million to expand the programme, which will test for up to 50 genetic variants prevalent in Shetland.
The project has been praised by NHS Shetland executives and supported by community councils across the isles.
Wilson said he was “delighted” to receive the £15,000 grant.
“I think our Shetland Community Screening Project – which this will support – is the very definition of a community benefit and I was happy to receive such widespread support for our project,” he added.
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