A Lanarkshire couple who volunteer to assist studies into dementia research are encouraging more people to take part.
Gerry O’Hara of Airdrie attends the Eurocentral-based Glasgow Memory Clinic accompanied by wife Jean, and they are now featuring in a campaign video.
It aims to find more participants willing to take part in future studies at the facility, which is the country’s leading clinical research centre for Alzheimer’s dementia.
Gerry, 72, said: “If organisations like this are looking for a volunteer, you’ve got to help as it will go up the chain and help other people – I would never say no, I’ll be here because I know what it means for the future.”
Jean, who acts as his study partner, added: “If it can help the person that you are with, somebody that you love, then great.
“If there’s a way you can help to advance medications or understanding then I would say others should definitely go for it; the experience that we’ve had at Glasgow Memory Clinic has been very positive.”
Located at Excel House at the Lanarkshire business park, the centre’s research team of consultants, physicians, research nurses and psychologists is involved in international studies seeking better treatments for memory impairment and other neurological conditions.
Staff are currently running or preparing to launch a number of studies and are inviting interested participants to visit https://glasgowmemoryclinic.com/current-studies/ to find out more and to register.
Participation in studies is voluntary; all medical care, attention and treatment is free of charge and reasonable travelling expenses are reimbursed.
Research director Dr Fraser Inglis said: “Volunteers are crucial to the research process across the spectrum – we simply couldn’t do it without volunteers coming forward.
“We are very fortunate we live in a country where people are very selfless. Their participation could potentially mean access to a new medicine before its available, but equally their position can be ‘if it doesn’t help me, it might help somebody else’.
“Every volunteer will make a difference and this new campaign is hoping to find the very people willing to step up and do just that.”
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