The story of Gift of Life is a story of how philanthropy brings people together for one vital purpose: saving children’s lives. This year, the charity marks 15 years of this shared mission.
Gift of Life was founded on a clear belief: that children and young people diagnosed with cancer deserve access to the most modern, effective, evidence-based treatment available.
Since 2011, Gift of Life has been helping children from the CIS region fight cancer and severe blood disorders. Childhood cancer is treatable if therapy is chosen correctly and started on time. Yet for many families, access to essential medicines, international donor registries, or advanced therapies remains limited. That is why ensuring access to effective, often rare and not readily available medications has been at the heart of the foundation’s work for the past 15 years, made possible thanks to the incredible support of generous donors around the world.
Lyuba Galkina, Chulpan Khamatova and Aleksandra Vereshchetina
For our Trustee Aleksandra Vereshchetina, the foundation’s mission is deeply personal: “For me, the mission of the foundation is not abstract charity, but a deeply personal story. As a student, I lost my best friend from leukaemia. I saw how the disease cuts young lives short and how helpless loved ones feel in the face of it. Now, as a mother, I more acutely understand the fear families experience when their child faces a cancer diagnosis. No one should have to go through this alone. That is why I so deeply value the opportunity to be part of the foundation: to support children, to give hope, and to help parents stay afloat during the most difficult moments of their lives. For me, the mission of the foundation is a chance to save, to support, and to change destinies.”
In 15 years, more than 640 children and young people have received direct support from Gift of Life. The charity has approved over 850 applications for life-saving medicines, effective medical procedures, and non-medical support, investing over £10,500,000 into its programme work.
A core part of this work includes procuring essential medications and treatments that are unavailable locally but are crucial for treating specific and complex forms of cancer. In this case, the figures tell the true story of the impact.
Professor Mikhail Maschan (DSc)
As Professor Mikhail Maschan (DSc), Deputy General Director for Research at Dmitry Rogachev National Medical Research Centre, emphasises: “If we’re talking about a patient who first fell ill with a standard tumour, then the absence of one drug from the treatment regimen can reduce the chances of recovery by several tens of percent. Take high-risk stage 4 neuroblastoma therapy. If a full treatment program is carried out with chemotherapy, radiation and transplantation, the chances of recovery are about 45%. But if you add dinutuximab immunotherapy to this combination, the chance increases to 65%. The loss of one element “kills” 20% of the success, which translates to two lives saved out of ten. That’s a lot!”
The foundation also facilitates bone marrow donor searches through international registries, often a life-saving step for children requiring transplantation. Alongside direct patient support, Gift of Life invests in the future of paediatric oncology by funding educational programmes, training and professional development for doctors and researchers, with over 140 specialists supported to date. These specialists will in turn save hundreds more lives.
As Professor Mikhail Maschan (DSc) explains: “Like any high-tech field, medicine is in an area of rapid growth in knowledge. Medicine is rapidly changing in 5-10 years the same way it progressed in the previous 50. If a doctor today is not informed of new procedures, he or she does not “move” medicine forward, and in ten years they become useless, not even understanding what drugs to use in treatment. And vice versa, with constant training, a doctor won’t fear that their knowledge will become outdated, and therefore they are actively practicing, saving hundreds of children’s lives.”
Throughout the years, Gift of Life has advanced its mission in long-standing collaborations with sister charities: Podari Zhizn (founded in 2006 in Russia) and the U.S.-based Podari.Life (founded in 2015). Together, the organisations work cohesively to ensure children and young people across the CIS region have access to the most effective cancer treatments and advanced medicines crucial for saving lives. Together, the partner charities have supported more than 97,000 children undergoing treatment for oncological and haematological diseases.
In February 2026, the charitable efforts expanded even further with the launch of a fourth partner organisation Doro.Life in Cyprus, strengthening international collaboration and allowing even more children to receive timely and life-saving care.
Princess Catherine Galitzine
As the charity looks ahead, Gift of Life Patron Princess Catherine Galitzine shares her hopes for the future: “I hope for recognition without politics for this beneficial charity and thus the chance to save the lives of more children suffering from this dreadful disease. My hope is also with the scientists who manage to develop better and better drugs against cancer and with wider investment, the price of such drugs will go down and all those in need of them shall have the same opportunity.”
Over the years, Gift of Life’s patients have been supported by philanthropists, doctors, artists, athletes, corporate partners, students, and compassionate individuals from around the world. What unites them is a shared desire to give children a real chance at recovery and we are deeply grateful to everyone who stands with us to advance this noble cause.
Chulpan Khamatova, Ralph Fiennes and Lyuba Galkina
When asked what she would like to say to everyone who has supported Gift of Life along this journey, Patron Lyuba Galkina shared: “A heartfelt thank you to everyone, those who donated their money and their time, our trustees, artists, directors, volunteers, and patrons, including Ralph Fiennes, Princess Catherine Galitzine and many others. And of course, Chulpan Khamatova, who for many years has supported the foundation as a volunteer and its main inspiration.”
We believe that every child deserves access to modern and effective medical care. For 15 years, the solidarity, generosity, and compassion of adults have helped children receive not only treatment but hope, time, and the possibility of a healthy future.