172 years of leaps in medical science at GOSH

GOSH opened with just 10 beds,and was the first hospital in the UK to offer dedicated inpatient care to children.

Also known as the ‘iron lung’, this device was used to treat polio by helping to expand children’s lungs, allowing them to breathe easier. It was subsequently loaned out to other hospitals.

GOSH’s Thoracic Unit, the UK’s first joint medical and surgical ward was established, focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of children with chest and heart diseases.

This machine was used to help repair heart problems in children, and by 1967, 60 per cent of infants with severe heart and lung problems were surviving.

An immunologist at GOSH developed a technique used to isolate vital immune cells in the blood, extracting immune cells from a healthy donor and transplanting them into a child.

One of the first centres in the UK to carry out life-saving transplants on children with heart failure was set up. Today, the programme is one of the largest in the world, performing around 20 heart and lung transplants a year.

With less intense chemotherapy, this new transplant helped treat children who were too sick for standard doses of drugs.

Immunologists at GOSH sparked a groundbreaking programme of research into gene therapy, a technique where a faulty section of DNA (a gene) is replaced with a working copy. The team began a trial that would become the second-ever successful trial of gene therapy for any disease anywhere in the world.

The Newlife Birth Defects Research Centre opened its doors in 2012

GOSH immunologist used CAR T-cells to treat a one-year-old patient with ‘incurable’ leukaemia. This incredible world-first sparks a new wave of CAR T-cell research around the world.

This was a big undertaking for the hospital but has transformed the way care is delivered to our patients.

The secure Digital Research Environment (DRE) allowed GOSH to set up a rapid COVID-19 profiling platform. This had a global impact as the single largest study of COVID-19 in children and the only study reporting on COVID-19 infection in children with underlying high-risk vulnerabilities.

A world-first scientific study with major involvement from GOSH, showed that whole genome sequencing could uncover new diagnoses for people across the broadest range of rare diseases investigated to date and could deliver enormous benefits across the NHS.

The imaging team at GOSH developed a non-invasive imaging technique for the post-mortem imaging of babies who are miscarried or stillborn. The technique can provide answers for bereaved parents and help tackle the stigma around pregnancy loss and miscarriage.

13-year-old Alyssa became the first reported patient in the world to receive base-edited T-cells at GOSH, in collaboration with the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UCL GOS ICH), to treat her ‘incurable’ T cell leukaemia.

GOSH was granted a Manufacturer's Authorisation Licence for the manufacture of viral vectors, which will enable an acceleration in cell and gene therapy clinical trials and expand the novel treatments that we can offer to our patients.

We are continually striving to boost translational research and innovation at GOSH and supporting the development of careers in these fields. For example, through funding we have received for the NIHR GOSH Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR GOSH Clinical Research Facility.

GOSH’s first-of-its-kind Data Research, Innovation and Virtual Environments Unit (DRIVE) is also exploring ways to use data and technology to transform patient care, improve the experience for staff delivering care and introduce efficiencies for the healthcare system. For example, DRIVE are currently exploring how Artificial Intelligence tools, remote monitoring and clinical data analytics could benefit patients and staff at the Trust.

And, with support from GOSH Charity, we are building our new Children’s Cancer Centre. Replacing the outdated Frontage Building, it will make a significant difference to everyone coming to GOSH. Alongside the four floors dedicated to cancer care, we will have a new main entrance and hospital school as well as additional theatres, critical care and imaging facilities.