Health board endowment fund gives £50k to Viking Genes
THE VIKING Genes screening project has secured a £50,000 donation from the Shetland Health Board endowment fund.
NHS Shetland said it reflects a “shared commitment to improving health outcomes through innovation, prevention and community-focused healthcare”.
It is hoped that once wider funding is secured, the project will offer free genetic screening to a cohort of Shetland residents aged 16 and over, helping identify various genetic variants that are known to occur more frequently in the Shetland population than elsewhere in the UK.
These include variants associated with certain cancers, such as breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, as well as inherited heart conditions that can lead to serious illness if left undetected.
The University of Edinburgh’s Viking Genes Fund is undertaking a community-led fundraising campaign to raise £1 million to support delivery of the wider project, with early donations already secured.
As part of the project, participants will receive a home saliva testing kit and secure access to their results, alongside clear information and support for any onward referrals into NHS services where required.
Unlike traditional genetic testing programmes that focus on a single condition, the Viking Genes project is designed to identify a range of clinically significant inherited conditions through a single test.
NHS Shetland said by combining “cutting-edge genomic research with preventative healthcare”, the project aims to identify risks earlier, enabling people to access monitoring, treatment and lifestyle advice before symptoms develop.
The initiative builds on more than a decade of research through Viking Genes and positions Shetland at the forefront of population-based preventative genomics in the UK.
Shetland Health Board Endowment Funds is a long-running charity which aims to provide services and amenities to patients, and sometimes staff, which go beyond the core provisions of NHS Shetland.
Chair of Shetland Health Board Endowment Funds Lincoln Carroll said: “The endowment committee was impressed by the ambition of this project and its potential to deliver lasting benefits for people across Shetland. This is about more than genetic testing; it is about prevention, early intervention and using research to improve lives.
“The evidence already emerging from Viking Genes demonstrates the difference that timely information can make for individuals and families. We are proud to support a project that combines innovation, academic partnership and direct benefit to our community.”
Professor Jim Flett Wilson, who is principal investigator for Viking Genes at the University of Edinburgh, said: “This generous support from the Shetland Health Board Endowment Funds is a major boost for the next phase of our work and brings us closer to making community genetic screening a reality in Shetland.
“We believe this project has the potential to help identify people at increased risk of serious inherited conditions earlier, giving them the opportunity to access appropriate advice and care.
“Shetland has already played a leading role in advancing genomic research through Viking Genes, and we’re excited to continue working with the community to explore how these discoveries can contribute to better preventative healthcare in the future.”
The decision to support the project was influenced not only by the strength of the research but also by the real-world impact already being seen in Shetland families.
One participant, Elaine Falconer, from Weisdale, discovered through Viking Genes that she carries a genetic variant linked to Long QT syndrome (LQTS), an inherited heart condition that can cause potentially life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms.
Further testing identified the same variant in several members of her family across three generations, enabling them to receive specialist assessment, monitoring and treatment where needed.
Falconer said: “Taking part in Viking Genes has made a huge difference to my family.
“What started with one letter led to important information that has helped protect my children, grandchildren and other relatives who otherwise may never have known they were at risk. It’s not always easy news to receive, but having that knowledge means people can get the care and treatment they need. For us, it has genuinely been life-changing.
“The donation is a fantastic sum of money and I’m so grateful for the support from the Endowment Funds. It will help so many family members in the future”
Sandra Laurenson, fundraising chair for Viking Genes in Shetland, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Shetland Health Board Endowment Funds for this generous £50,000 donation.
“It represents a significant vote of confidence in our vision and moves us a major step closer to our next £200,000 fundraising milestone on the journey towards our £1 million target.
“This funding will support the next phase of the Shetland Community Screening Project and help us continue preparing for a community genetic screening programme that has the potential to benefit generations of Shetland families.
“The support we’ve already received from donors, and the community reflects a shared belief in the value of earlier identification of inherited conditions and the difference that knowledge can make to people’s lives.”
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