The Alzheimer’s Society has received a £1m donation from a retired dentist in memory of his late wife, making it one of the largest single gifts the charity has received in its 37-year history.
According to a statement by the charity, the gift was received today from 81-year-old Malcolm Joyce (pictured), a retired dentist, who made the donation in the memory of his wife Jean, who passed away from the disease last year.
“People have no idea how difficult it is to experience something like that,” said Joyce. “To watch someone you love go through such frustration.
"After she died I was completely lost. I still am. You can talk to people about Alzheimer’s but it’s just a word.”
Donation will go towards funding 'vital research' in North East
Joyce’s donation is one of the largest individual gifts that Alzheimer’s Society have ever received, said Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of Alzheimer's Society.
“Malcolm’s generous gift is one of the largest donations the Society has ever received from a supporter and will not only make a vital contribution towards advancing care and research for people living with dementia, but will help to reach out to and inspire others to support our fight against this devastating condition.
“Thanks to his backing we will be able to ensure more people in the North East are aware of dementia and the support they can get.”
The majority of Joyce's donation will go towards “funding vital research” into the disease in Joyce’s local area of the North East of England, as well as supporting “Doctoral Training Centres” in Bradford and Southampton.
The centres have recruited 52 PhD students studying the disease and aim to “develop the next generation of dementia researchers ensuring that we have a strong dementia research community in the UK”.
Jean Joyce was diagnosed with the disease in 2008. Joyce said “if I can save just one couple from going through what we went through it will have been worth it”.
The news comes the day after the charity announced that a new research drug “can remove the Alzheimer’s disease hallmark amyloid protein from the brains of people in the early stages of the disease”.
The results of the clinical trial of the drug – called aducanumab – have been described by Dr James Pickett, head of research at Alzheimer’s Society, as “the most detailed and promising that we’ve seen for a drug that aims to modify the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s disease”.
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