In 1976, Ian Scott Mackenzie, who was then the District Governor of Lions Clubs in the South East of England, made a visit to Woolwich Lions Club, and met Dr H Selhi a lecturer at King's College Hospital.

He later accepted an invitation to visit King's College Hospital, where he met Professor White, head of Haematology, and decided that their lack of facilities and funds deserved some support.

Coiln Durham, now a Trustee, wrote several articles for the Lions' Magazine highlighting the plight of this research. Ultimately this led to an agreement to support research into Leukaemia and other blood disorders.

The Charity Trust was set up on 1st July 1978, with Lord Marsh as its Chairman. Colin Vincent, now its Chairman, was one of its original Trustees.

King's College Hospital

The new Trust’s first appeal was to raise £400,000 for rebuilding and equipment. Lions Clubs in the South East themselves raised over £30,000 in the first year and over £1 million since.

The International grant division of Lions Clubs International made an award of $30,000 in 1982.

With the growing financial support available, it was possible to effect a land swap deal and move the Medical School at King's out of its temporary accommodation into the main King's College Hospital.

The Haematology Department then established the Lions International Earl Mountbatten Blood Research Laboratory, completed in 1985, at a total cost of £165,000.

The research continues today 27 years on, under the expert guidance of Professor Mufti, Professor Thein and their teams. The research centre has now become a centre of excellence providing diagnostic information to the hospital and the world.