JK Rowling's 10m charity donation
(Agencies)
2010-09-01 14:34
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JK Rowling has given ￡10 million to a multiple sclerosis charity.
The 'Harry Potter' author donated the staggering sum - which will be used to set up a new research clinic in Edinburgh - in the name of her mother Anne, who died from the degenerative disease at the age of 45.
The author - whose real first name is Joanne - said: "I have supported research into the cause and treatment of multiple sclerosis for many years now - but when I first saw the proposal for this clinic, I knew that I had found a project more exciting, more innovative, and, I believe, more likely to succeed in unravelling the mysteries of multiple sclerosis than any other I had read about or been asked to fund.
"I have just turned 45, the age at which my mother, Anne, died of complications related to her MS.
"I know that she would rather have had her name on this clinic than on any statue, flower garden or commemorative plaque, so this donation is on her behalf, too, and in gratitude for everything she gave me in her far too short life."
The Anne Rowling regenerative neurology clinic will be based at the University of Edinburgh and will carry out research into a range of degenerative neurological conditions and diseases including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntingdon's and motor neurone disease.
JK is estimated to have a personal fortune of ￡560million.
Since completing the 'Harry Potter' series, the author devotes most of her time to charity work, including Lumosin, a children's charity which she founded.