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A clinical trial is a scientific study, or an organised test of medicines and new treatment options involving patient and non-patient human volunteers. Clinical trials confirm whether medicines are safe and effective before they can be introduced as new treatments for a particular disease or condition.
A gift in will or a ‘bequest’ is a gift of personal property, such as money, belongings, or other assets, left to someone in a will. It’s essentially a way to distribute assets after someone’s death, as outlined in their will. Gifts in will can be made to individuals or organisations.
There are also different types of gifts-in-will you can make:
- A specific bequest is a nominated amount or specific gift.
- A percentage bequest is a nominated percentage of your estate.
- A residual bequest is what remains of your estate after family/friends have been provided for and all debts/taxes/expenses have been paid. This type of bequest maintains its relative value and automatically adjusts as the value of your estate increases.
No matter which form of bequest you choose, your gift is extremely valuable – helping to fund the research that could end the suffering caused by blood cancer.
There are four different types of clinical trials, each one associated with a different phase in the development of a new medicine or treatment:
Phase 1: Determines the safety of the medicine, how it works and how well it is tolerated in small groups of people.
Phase 2: Determines the effectiveness of the medicine and further evaluate the safety in a larger group of people
Phase 3: Determines the effectiveness, monitors side-effects and compares it to commonly used treatments in large groups of people
Phase 4: Post marketing studies reflect additional information including the drugs risks, benefits and optimal use
You can make minor changes or additions to your current Will. This is known as a Codicil. Your solicitor will help you implement this change. For the Codicil to be effective, it must be signed and witnessed. This is the simplest way of including a charity in your current Will.
Participants in clinical trials can play a more active role in their own health care, gain access to new research treatments at no cost before they are widely available, receive extensive medical care associated with the trial and help others by contributing to medical research.
As well as being reviewed by government authorities such as the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the results of a clinical trial may be reported in the medical press. The results are published so that doctors can make scientifically valid assessments of the risks and benefits of a new medicine. Although the results are published, nothing that identifies individual patients will be released. All details of a clinical trial participant’s treatment are kept confidential and patient anonymity is assured.
ALLG is the only not for profit, collaborative clinical research group in Australia and New Zealand. Since our inception over 50 years ago, our brilliant member clinicians have designed and delivered over 150 innovative clinical studies for patients in Australia and New Zealand. Your gift will not only provide Australia’s leading clinical researchers with the power to end blood cancer sooner, but it is also a gift to future generations who will benefit from the latest research and world-class treatments.
A control is the standard to which experimental observations are compared. In many clinical trials, one group of patients will be given an experimental drug or treatment, while the control group is given either a standard treatment for the illness or a placebo.
Thank you so much for your generosity! Your gift will be instrumental in changing the course of blood cancer treatments in Australia and New Zealand.
No matter the size or nature of your gift, we are grateful for your support. Please go through our checklist to ensure that this process is as seamless as possible for you and your loved ones. It is recommended that you engage a solicitor to guide you through the creation or amendment of your will and agreed upon next steps. It is also recommended that your wishes are made known to your loved ones to avoid confusion down the line.
Finally, please do get in touch with ALLG to let us know of your intentions. We would love to thank you and get to know you better. We can also provide more information about ALLG’s work.
A placebo is an inactive pill, liquid or powder that has no treatment value; in clinical trials experimental treatments are often compared with placebos to assess the effectiveness of the experimental treatment.
If you have any questions or want to chat about ALLG’s work, please reach out to:
Kate Halford, Senior Manager – Partnerships & Communications
Email: fundraising@allg.org.au
Phone: 03 8373 9705
The protocol is a study plan on which all trials are based. The plan is designed to safeguard the health of the participants as well as answer any specific research questions. The protocol describes the types of people who are eligible to participate in the trial, the schedule of tests, procedures, medication and dosage and the duration of the trial.
People should know as much as possible about the clinical trial and feel comfortable asking members of the trial team questions about the trial, the care expected and why the researchers believe the experimental treatment being tested might be effective.
Adverse reactions are undesired actions or side-effects of the experimental drug or treatment. They may include headache, nausea, hair loss, skin irritation or other physical problems.
Participants in clinical trials can play a more active role in their own health care, gain access to new research treatments at no cost before they are widely available, receive extensive medical care associated with the trial and help others by contributing to medical research.
There are risks to clinical trials; there may be unpleasant, serious or even life threatening side effects to experimental treatments. The treatment may not be effective for the participant. The protocol or plan may require more of their time and attention, including trips to the study site, more treatments, hospital stays or complex dosage requirements.
A clinical trial team includes doctors, nurses and other health professionals who carefully follow the protocol or plan of the trial. They check the health of the participant at the start of the trial, give specific instructions for participating in the trial, monitor the participant through the trial and stay in touch after the trial is completed.
Informed consent is the process of learning the key facts about the clinical trial before deciding whether to participate. Doctors and nurses involved in the trial explain the details of the study and provide an informed consent document that outlines the study purpose, duration, required procedures, risks and benefits and key contacts. The patient then decides whether or not to sign the document. Informed consent is not a contract and the participant may withdraw from the trial at any time.
A participant can leave a clinical trial at any time. When withdrawing from the trial, the participant should let the research team know about it, and the reasons for leaving the study.
The ALLG actively supports cross referral from clinicians at neighbouring hospital sites to clinicians located at a site where the clinical trial is open. Cross referral assists with increasing recruitment to the trial, and the benefit is that it also provides access to new treatment options. If you are a patient wanting to participate in a trial that is open at another hospital then please speak to your doctor to organise the referral.
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