Although Kara passed away in January 2023, her fund remains active, and donations in her memory are gratefully received.
There are three main ways that you can support Kara’s fund:
1 – Buy her music or merchandise! Every penny raised will go towards research into the severest cases of ME. (More details below.) It will also help raise awareness of just how serious this illness can be.
2 – Donate to the fund. If you wish to make a donation in addition to purchasing the album, please visit our Just Giving page.
3 – Spread the word about Kara’s album, on social media and in person. The more people we can reach, the greater the success of the project.
The aim
Kara’s dream was to raise £100,000 to support the ME Association in their aim of establishing a post-mortem research facility for those who die with or from ME. Kara’s family are continuing the project in her memory.
All money raised will go to the ME Association’s Ramsay Research Fund, where it will be ring fenced with no salaries or admin costs taken out.
If we can raise £100,000, it will enable the MEA to take the early steps towards establishing this vital facility.
This project was particularly important to Kara as her close friend, Merryn Crofts, died of severe ME in 2017, aged 21. Kara also knew that her own condition would eventually prove fatal.
Thank you so much for your support – it means the world to all who loved Kara. Please sign up below and follow us on social media to receive updates.
Statement from the ME Association
Dr Charles Shepherd of the MEA writes:
Post-mortem research and ‘brain banks’ are a vital component of any research strategy when it comes to finding the underlying cause of diseases that affect the brain and nervous system.
This sort of research is already taking place in the case of diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s Disease.
The ME/CFS post-mortem research group have already reported on some important abnormalities, including inflammation in structures called the dorsal root ganglion, in the small number of post-mortems that have been carried out in people with ME/CFS here in the UK.
This is why we set up and published a study which examined the feasibility of setting up a formal post-mortem research facility (‘brain bank’) here in the UK for ME.
Such a facility will also honour Merryn Crofts, and many others, who have very sadly died from ME/CFS and donated body tissue for research purposes.
We are immensely grateful to Kara for being able to use the proceeds of her record sales to advancing post-mortem research and setting up a formal research facility.
To take this forward we have now established a collaboration with the Manchester Brain Bank to carry out post mortem research involving people with ME/CFS who have consented to provide post mortem material before the time of death
More information on this arrangement, along with a Statement of Intent – which confirms permission to use post mortem material
More information on the Manchester Brain Bank here.
Dr Charles Shepherd
Hon Medical Adviser MEA
Kara Jane 