Telethon raises over €83.5 million in pledged donations

08:00

By: Sahili Aya

Telethon raises over €83.5 million in pledged donations

The 39th edition of the French Telethon concluded overnight from Saturday to Sunday with more than €83.5 million in pledges to support research on rare genetic diseases, according to the AFM-Téléthon association. After 30 hours of continuous broadcasting on public television channels, the fundraising counter reached exactly €83,504,259.

Santa, the singer who served as this year’s ambassador, helped boost the total by contributing an exceptional €99,999 at the opening of the event on Friday. Firefighters across France also announced that they had collected €1.3 million through their nationwide initiatives.

Last year’s Telethon generated nearly €80 million in pledges and over €96.5 million once all donations were finalized. The all-time record dates back to 2006, when the total exceeded €106 million.

As in previous years, more than 20,000 local events were organized throughout France, including on-the-ground collections, online donations, phone pledges, a gaming marathon and a charity raffle.

Funds raised by the Telethon are primarily directed toward rare diseases — 95% of which still lack treatment or even diagnosis, and remain severely underfunded. AFM-Téléthon currently supports 40 clinical trials involving 33 different diseases affecting the blood, liver, muscles, vision and immune system, among others. However, the association notes that it cannot finance all promising drug candidates emerging from the laboratories it supports.

Researchers emphasize that breakthroughs achieved in rare disease research often pave the way for advances against more common illnesses such as cancer, age-related macular degeneration and heart failure.