Heart Link was set up in 1981 as a support group for parents and families who have a child with a heart defect. 25 years on, the charity has done better than anyone could have imagined, raising over £2.5million to transform the children’s heart unit at Glenfield Hospital (GH) into one of the best in the country.

On March 10, there will be a big bash at the Walkers Stadium to celebrate the 25th birthday of the Heart Link children’s charity.

Some of the milestones of the Heart Link charity over the last 25 years have included:

• 1989 – Heart Link launched an appeal which resulted in the Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) program (a life-support system which can be used on patients with severe respiratory (lung) and cardiac (heart) failure) being introduced at GH. Today, GH is one of just 4 ECMO centers in the country. The Heart link ECMO Center is now known world-wide as a very successful unit.

• 1996 – The charity raised £80,000 to install a helicopter landing pad at GH to enable children needing urgent medical attention to be airlifted to the hospital, therefore greatly increasing their chances of survival.

• 2001 – Heart Link bought 2 caravans at Mablethorpe for use exclusively by families whose child had a heart condition and who might not otherwise benefit from a holiday. This was followed in 2004 with the purchase of 2 more caravans at Butlins, Skegness, at a cost of £40,000.

• 2004 – Funded the Heart Link garden – a quiet, landscaped area at GH with plenty of seating for anyone to use as a place of quiet reflection and contemplation.

• 2005 – Heart Link is currently raising money to purchase a £161,000 4D Ultrasound scanner. The scanner will enable more diagnostic information to be gathered from a single heart beat and will enable clinicians at GH to obtain multiple imaging planes simultaneously.

Christine said: “We are extremely grateful to the hospital, surgeons, consultants and staff who helped Joanne, but especially to Heart Link for bringing ECMO treatment to Leicester. Although Heart Link have a small group of volunteers, what they have managed to achieve over the last 25 years is fantastic.”

Carmel Hunt, operational manager for Children's Services at GH, said: "Due to the generosity of Heart Link over the last 25 years, the pediatric cardiology department has been able to provide an exceptional service for patients and their families, ranging from providing us with our own dedicated helipad to ‘Walter’ teddy bears for all children admitted to our unit.

"Starting with Heart Link’s first appeal, for parent accommodation at Groby Road Hospital, to the latest appeal for a state of the art specialist scanner and to many numerous other projects between to mention, I would like to thank them on behalf of UHL for their continued support."

Gill Smart, Heart Link treasurer said: “It is amazing what we have achieved over the last 25 years. We hope that all of the money we have raised has given a better quality of life to many families and children.”