Xtreme Everest 2

Xtreme-Everest 2 - a collaboration between Duke University USA, University of Southampton and University College London

The Final Push. We need your help

We are now almost at the end of the fieldwork for Xtreme-Everest 2, the largest high-altitude research study of its kind ever undertaken. Over 200 adults and children have taken part to shed light on how the body adapts to low levels of oxygen.

One in five of us ends up in an intensive care unit. Two fifths of those admitted will sadly die. And a major cause is a lack of oxygen when it is most needed. This unique research exploits the oxygen-thin air at high altitudes to provide critical insights into how intensive care patients might be helped in the future. It could save hundreds of thousands of lives of people with a range of diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart and lung disease, cystic fibrosis and congenital heart disease.

Thanks to thousands of donations, over £850,000 has been raised to fund this fieldwork. We now need a further £250,000 to ensure that the information gathered is scrutinized properly to save lives in the future.

This money is needed to create a single ‘biobank’ database bringing together the world’s most comprehensive collection of physiological data and specimens taken from people exposed to oxygen deprivation from all our studies. These studies have been carried out during ten projects, over ten years, involving more than 500 subjects, resulting in the accumulation of over 20,000 specimens.

Please browse the website to find out more and read the stories about our brave volunteer trekkers. Please also consider making a donation using the button on this page - and ask others to do so - to help us create a lasting legacy from Xtreme-Everest 2.

Thank you