10/12/22

31st Grand Finale – we fight with sepsis!


To purchase the medical equipment for early diagnosis of the bacterial infection that causes sepsis – this is the main objective of the upcoming 31st Grand Finale. For the first time in the history of the Orchestra, the Foundation will purchase medical equipment for all patients in need, regardless of age. The traditional public fundraiser will be held in the streets on 29 January 2023, but the online fundraisers and numerous events organized by the Collection Centres will be launched already in December.

Grand Finale for all – the little and the big ones – will be the theme of the 31st edition of our annual January fundraiser. Today at noon, Jurek Owsiak announced the main objective of the collection – the fight against sepsis.

Why fight against sepsis?

Sepsis is a set of symptoms caused by an uncontrolled, sudden body’s response to an infection. Sepsis may lead to multiple organ system failures, shock and death in just a few hours.

Recent studies show that sepsis is the leading cause of 20% of annual global deaths. According to the World Health Organization, in 2017, sepsis affected 49 million people worldwide and was linked to 11 million deaths. Half of the patients were children (ca. 20 million), and 2.9 million deaths occurred in children under 5.

In Poland, due to the lack of a national register, there are no reliable data on the number of sepsis cases, which significantly impedes the prevention and treatment. According to the National Health Fund’s reports, analyzed by NIK (Supreme Audit Office), there are ca. 20 thousand hospitalized adult patients in Poland affected by sepsis annually. However, these numbers are indeed underestimated. The point prevalence survey carried out in the accredited intensive care units in 2012 and 2013 reveals that sepsis affected at least 50 thousand people, and the death rate was higher than in the case of deaths caused by respiratory system cancers or heart attacks. Moreover, the NIK’s report of 2018 on hospital infections stresses the need for introducing urgent actions to prevent, monitor and treat sepsis.

The key to a sepsis patient's survival is an early diagnosis and application of the proper treatment – preferably within the first hour. Research shows that any delay in diagnosing sepsis and administering an effective antibiotic with a one-hour delay increases the risk of death by 8 per cent. Therefore, the GOCC Foundation wants to provide hospitals with equipment to speed up the diagnosis of sepsis, which will enable better treatment through faster implementation of targeted and effective antibiotic therapy.

The Orchestra plans to purchase:

• equipment for the identification of micro-organisms by Maldi TOF mass spectrometry systems for automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing
• multiplex PCR-type molecular diagnostic tool for the identification of micro-organisms including determination of drug resistance
• tools for the detection of amplification products of bacteria, fungi and determination of resistance mechanisms using magnetic resonance technology
• automated systems for microbiological samples
• laminar flow cabinets for laboratories.

31st Grand Finale to be held on 29 January

The objective of the initiative was announced 109 days before the Grand Finale. The public fundraiser in the streets will be held on 29 January 2023, but the online fundraisers and numerous events organized by the Collection Centres will be launched already in December. Registration for the GOCC Collection Centres starts on 17 October 2022. Registration for volunteers is planned for November.

On the 30th Grand Finale

The 30th Grand Finale was held on 30 January 2022. The objective of the collection was to ensure the best standards of diagnostics and treatment of eye diseases and disorders in children. 1633 Collection Centres, incl. 90 international Collection Centres in 29 countries and thousands of volunteers were engaged. The funds were raised traditionally to the colourful card Collection Boxes in the streets and through online fundraisers, auctions, and other electronic channels. The bonus event held together with the fundraiser was the 16th Get Even With Diabetes Race. The Grand Finale in Warsaw was celebrated near the Palace of Culture and Science in the city centre. Dżem, Happysad, IRA, Kwiat Jabłoni, De Mono, LemON, Sorry Boys and Piotr Bukartyk played their concerts live.

During the 30th Grand Finale, the GOCC Foundation raised PLN 224,376,706.35.

In the 30 years, the Foundation raised over PLN 1.75 bln in aid of Polish medicine and bought nearly 70,000 medical devices.
Anna Libertowska