ABOUT THE “FRIENDS” ORGANIZATION

Additional information is also available at the Friends web site at www.friendsoftheslulc.org.

The Friends of the SLU Liver Center supports the research efforts of the world-renowned Saint Louis University Liver Center for the treatment and cure of liver diseases, and to promote understanding and awareness of liver disease.

Liver Disease Facts:

• Hepatitis C affects five million people in the United States. One in 50 people have hepatitis C and nearly two-thirds of those people don’t know they have it.
• Hepatitis C can be diagnosed through a simple blood test and is curable in about 60 percent of patients.
• There are over 30 other liver diseases which can be diagnosed and treated.

Facts about the Saint Louis University Liver Center and the Friends Organization:

• The SLU Liver Center enjoys worldwide recognition as a center of excellence for research and treatment of liver diseases.
• One of the SLU Liver Center’s better-known patients is Grammy-winning recording artist Naomi Judd of the popular Country duo “The Judds”, who after being diagnosed with hepatitis C, was given just three years to live. Naomi Judd now credits SLU Liver Center’s Co-Director Dr. Bruce R. Bacon and his team for saving her life.
• The Friends organization has raised and donated more than $1.9 million for the SLU Liver Center since its inception. The funds help support the critical infrastructure of the Liver Center from faculty salaries to visiting professorships and patient-oriented seminars and research.
• By leveraging the donations of the Friends, the Liver Center is able to use the funds as“seed grants” for investigators to gather preliminary research data that in turn generates larger grants from outside sources. This seed grant process has generated $18 new dollars from outside the region for every $1 raised locally.
• All the money raised by the Friends of the SLU Liver Center stays in our region to support local, life-saving research and patient treatment.