21/05/2026
We had an excellent presentation at our meeting yesterday from Matt Kefford, pictured here with President Claire, who came to tell us about the inspirational work of the charity Medical Detection Dogs. We were in awe of Matt's enthusiasm and his depth of knowledge about the work of the charity.
Co founded over 15 years ago by Dr Claire Guest, who believed disease had an odour and dogs could be trained to spot them, their work has grown and developed in that time. MDD have Medical Alert Assistance Dogs who support people with complex health conditions such as PoTs, Type One Diabetes, Addison's Disease and severe allergies when they are in danger of having a potentially life threatening medical event. Matt showed us videos of several people who have a Medical Alert Assistance Dog giving them confidence, independence, freedom and hope for the future. The impact on their lives was life changing.
Their Bio Detection Dogs are trained to detect even the tiniest smells associated with diseases like cancer, Parkinson's and bacterial infections. This pioneering work could lead to dogs playing an important role is screening for diseases at an early stage and improving patient care in hospitals.
What an amazing charity! Thank you, Matt for coming to tell us all about the work of MDD.
www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk
