WEC Machining are taking part in the Blackburn 10k on Sunday 3rd December 2023, raising money for Tiny Tickers, a charity that try to provide a better start for tiny hearts.

We were first made aware of this charity when one of our employee's grandson Oliver was diagnosed with congenital heart defects (CHD) antenatally at the 20 week scan.

Oliver was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Arteries, a Ventricular Septal Defect and Pulmonary Stenosis, and will require open heart surgery in the near future.

A baby is born with a serious heart condition every two hours in the UK and despite congenital heart disease being one of the biggest killers of infants, only around half of congenital heart defects are picked up during routine prenatal scanning.

Approximately 1000 babies are sent home from hospital with undiagnosed CHD every year. Tiny tickers have trained 2291 sonographers since 2016 to spot heart defects at pregnancy scans. This provides the best start possible for children with CHD.

With your help we can provide a safety net for the 1,000 babies each year that leave hospital with their heart defect undetected, increasing detection rates, improving a baby’s chances of survival and long-term quality of life.