Life-changing research starts with you

Will you help people like Isabel get the treatments they need to breathe this summer?

Will you help change lives this summer?

Summer can be a difficult time for people with lung conditions. Hot weather, higher pollen counts and air pollution can make their symptoms worse, resulting in them becoming seriously unwell – or even needing emergency care.

Your donation will help fund life-changing research to stop people with lung conditions fighting for breath this season.

Isabel

As the weather got warmer and more humid, and I was exposed more to air pollution outdoors, my symptoms would get so much worse. It felt like my lungs were being crushed. I was permanently exhausted, as my body was putting so much energy into keeping me alive. 

I’ve had severe asthma all my life. But when I turned 18, my symptoms got even worse – especially during the spring and summer. 

As the weather got warmer and more humid, and I was exposed more to air pollution outdoors, my symptoms would get so much worse. It felt like my lungs were being crushed. I was permanently exhausted, as my body was putting so much energy into keeping me alive. 

In 2023, my consultants at the hospital told me a game-changing new injection had been approved to help manage severe breathing problems – and I was eligible for it. Without the life-changing research funded by charities like Asthma + Lung UK, this treatment might not exist. 

In two months, my life transformed. I was able to run and cycle again, and I could finally spend time outside without gasping for breath. I haven’t had to take any more time off from university, and I’m so excited to finally finish my studies and make the most of my summers.  

Now that I’m not constantly struggling to breathe, I can’t wait to see where my life will take me.  But I can’t help but think that, if I’d had access to this treatment earlier, I would have got my life back so much sooner.  

Research is transforming lives like Isabel’s. But it needs your support. 

  • Lung health research in the UK is chronically underfunded. As a charity, the amount of research we can fund is limited.
  • Last year, we were forced to turn down four incredible research projects because we just didn’t have the money.
  • Your gift is vital in making sure we can support every world-class researcher who comes to us for funding. With your support, we can change millions more lives like Isabel’s.

Read about our ground-breaking research

Research
A man wearing a black polo shirt is holding a brown inhaler with a spacer. His hands and inhaler are close up and his face and the background are out of focus.
Research

Addressing asthma self-management: why we need a new approach

The UK has one of the highest asthma death rates in Europe. Over half of these deaths are considered preventable through better self-management. We developed a map of asthma management behaviours to help us understand what the barriers to and enablers of better asthma self-management.
A woman with shoulder length dark hair wearing glasses, a white lab coat and purple latex gloves is leaning over a microscope and looking directly at the camera.
Research

Research is bridging the gap between everyday health and science

From exploring the genetic cues behind asthma to studying how air pollution affects the lungs, research is leading the way to better lung health.
A group of scientists working together
Research

How sound waves are helping more people to find answers

At the Royal Brompton and Harefield Trust, consultant chest physician Dr William Man and his team have taken a difficult lung test and made it as simple as breathing in and out. He’s discovered a ground-breaking new way of using sound waves to measure how well the lungs are working in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).

More research