Six-year-old Sam Jahanshahi died from acute myeloid leukaemia just two days after being diagnosed

An Arnos Grove family’s fundraising in memory of their six-year-old son has helped fund four new research projects into childhood leukaemia.

Sam Jahanshahi died from acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in June 2023, having only been diagnosed two days before his death.

Determined to help other children and their families in the future, his parents, Catherine and Kambiz, set up ‘A Goal for Sam’, a special named fund at the CCLG: The Children and Young People’s Cancer Association, to raise funds for much-needed research into AML.

Starting the fund, said Catherine, allowed people to help contribute to something meaningful in memory of a “very kind-hearted, funny little boy who got on with everyone” and created a lasting legacy for Sam.

Catherine said: “Sam died so suddenly, it was a shock to everyone – not just his family, but his friends and the local community were blindsided.

“At that time, people felt very helpless as there was nothing anyone could do to bring Sam back and many people wanted to donate to a meaningful cause in his memory.

“We established A Goal for Sam to ensure this goodwill was channelled directly towards research into the specific illness that took Sam from us so young, and also to provide him with a legacy that he would have otherwise been deprived of.

“We realised that funding for research into childhood cancer was woefully inadequate and research grants are heavily reliant on charitable donations.

“CCLG provided us with the ability to create a fund that directly targets paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia and could in turn mean that Sam plays a part in saving other young lives.”

Since starting the fund, Catherine, Kambiz and their supporters have raised more than £50,000 and now, along with several other funds, they’ve contributed to four new leukaemia research projects.

Jointly funded by CCLG and Blood Cancer UK, the first two projects are led by Dr Samanta Mariani at the University of Edinburgh, and Dr Karen Keeshan at the University of Glasgow. Both are working towards kinder and more effective treatments for AML, with Dr Mariani’s project focused on the immune system in babies with the disease and Dr Keeshan’s project looking at how blocking a cancer protein could help fight hard-to-treat forms of the cancer.

A further two projects have been funded via a collaboration with VIVO biobank, which is funded by Cancer Research UK and Blood Cancer UK. The researchers, Dr Katrina Lappin at Queen’s University Belfast and Dr Sophie Kellaway at the University of Nottingham, both plan to use VIVO biobank samples to explore new immunotherapy approaches for childhood AML.

Catherine said of the funding: “We’re really pleased that A Goal for Sam will be funding four new research projects. It reaffirms the overarching ambitions of the fund that the money is supporting meaningful and important research.

“We know that our appreciation will be shared by all those who have donated and continue to support A Goal for Sam and it makes our continued fundraising worthwhile.

“We’re very grateful to all those who continue to support A Goal for Sam. Without their generosity the fund would not have come anywhere close to making the impact that it’s now having.”

Ashley Ball-Gamble, chief executive of CCLG: The Children and Young People’s Cancer Association, said: “We are delighted to bring the fantastic fundraising efforts of our special named fund families into our collaborations with Blood Cancer UK and VIVO biobank. By working together, we can accelerate funding for the most promising childhood cancer research and move faster toward breakthroughs for these young patients.”

Dr Richard Francis, deputy director of research at Blood Cancer UK, added: “Thanks to decades of research, survival from the most common form of childhood leukaemia has been transformed – from just one in ten children surviving in the 1960s to around nine in ten today. But for babies and children with aggressive forms of the disease, those gains have not been shared equally.

“Every child deserves the best possible chance of survival, and that’s why funding innovative research like this in Scotland is so vital. It’s only possible because of the determination of families and supporters who refuse to accept that current treatments are good enough.”

To support A Goal for Sam:
Visit specialnamedfunds.cclg.org.uk/a-goal-for-sam/

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