Amyloidosis is a rare disease caused by damaging build up of abnormal protein fibres, called amyloid, within the tissues and organs. Amyloidosis can affect any part of the body and lead to life threatening organ failure. It causes the death of about one person in every thousand and there are about 6,000 cases in the UK at any time. The Amyloidosis Research Fund within the Royal Free Charity supports the research, development and patients of the UK NHS National Amyloidosis Centre (NAC) at the Royal Free Hospital. The Centre, established in 1999, is funded directly by NHS Specialised Services to provide diagnostic and management advisory services for all UK amyloidosis patients.