The £4m house in Bath up for grabs in the new Omaze draw (Image: Omaze)
The collaboration, which aims to change the lives of a lucky winner and their family, is also supporting the BHF’s mission to help save more lives.
In 2021, 68-year-old Marilyn Pratt, a homemaker with a husband and two daughters from Greater London, won a three-million-pound house through the fundraising campaign. The house, based in leafy Fulham was a stunning four storey freehold property and Marilyn won it for just £10.
One-million-pounds from this draw helped to fund pioneering heart research by the BHF.
The BHF and Omaze partnered for a second time in 2023. Kevin Johnson, a 34-year-old construction worker and father of four, was the lucky winner of a stunning £3 million home in North London. An astonishing £2 million from this campaign went towards further funding of BHF funded research.
Combined, the partnership has raised £3 million for BHF’s pioneering research. This helps BHF to fund important research such as revolutionising the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease by researchers at University College London (UCL).
Every day in the UK, 13 babies are born with congenital heart disease. This is when the heart doesn’t develop properly in the womb. For people born with a heart defect, surgery is often the only treatment option, with some children requiring many open-heart surgeries throughout their lives.
In 2024, BHF awarded new funding to UCL and the researchers are now aiming to revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease by using the most advanced technologies. They are using artificial intelligence to speed up diagnosis of congenital heart defects and developing 3D-printing and virtual reality (VR) tools to better see the anatomy of a patient’s heart.
An astonishing £2 million from a previous campaign went towards further funding of BHF research (Image: Omaze)
Joe, a father from Southampton is hoping that his two sons, Sonny and Lennox who both have a congenital heart condition could benefit from this new research.
Lennox, six, was diagnosed with aortic stenosis (AS) in his first week of life. This meant that the valve stopping blood flowing back into the main pumping chamber of his heart would not open properly, restricting blood flow through the heart. He had surgery at eight days old.
Sonny, four, was also diagnosed with AS at his 20-week scan. At his 28-week scan, he was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) too – a much more complicated congenital condition. He has also undergone lifesaving surgery and will need further surgery in the future.
Having visited the BHF funded labs at UCL on 16th January, Joe said: “My wife Danielle and I are in quite a rare position of having two boys who both have congenital heart conditions – we nicknamed them ‘the heart brothers’ and we’re so proud of them. Lennox and Sonny have just really inspired us and taught us a lot about resilience and how to battle on.”
“Being able to see groundbreaking BHF research like the 3D hearts up close and personal is incredible. It’s BHF-funded research like this that gives us hope for the boys’ future.”
Danielle and Joe Crook with Sonny (youngest) and Lennox (eldest) (Image: Omaze)
UCL professors Silvia Schievano and Vivek Muthurangu working on research for BHF, with Joe Crook (Image: Omaze)
This year, money raised from the Omaze and BHF partnership is going towards funding local defibrillators in communities across the country. There are over 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year and fewer than one in ten people survive.
Judy O’Sullivan, Director of Innovation in Health Programmes at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest and, alongside CPR, prompt use of a defibrillator is critical in giving them the best chance of survival. To put it simply – access to a defibrillator could be the difference between life and death.
“Our partnership with Omaze will enable us to fund more local defibrillators in communities across the country and help power The Circuit, the national defibrillator network developed by the BHF. This is used by ambulance services to locate the closest defibrillator in an emergency. This means that we can help save more lives.”
James Oakes, Chief International Officer at Omaze, said: “Everyone at Omaze is thrilled that the £3,000,000 million raised to date is funding such vital life-saving research on behalf of the British Heart Foundation.
“We can’t wait to see what the latest draw in Bath will raise to add to this total and the impact it will have across the country. Entries close at midnight this Sunday, at omaze.co.uk.
He added: “Our charity partners get introduced to vast new audiences that they wouldn’t otherwise reach. We’re extremely proud that the Omaze Community has raised over £72 million for good causes across the UK.”
The lucky winner of the Omaze Million Pound House Draw, Bath, will get the keys to an elegant 6-bedroom property with regal heritage, dating back to the mid-1500s.
The magnificent property was part of the estate of Sir John Harrington, the godson of Elizabeth I, during the reign of Queen Anne.
The house comes -free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered. The winner is also given a whopping £250,000 in cash, to help them settle in, and can decide to either live in the house, rent it out for a supplementary income or sell it whenever they wish to become a cash multi-millionaire.
Omaze estimates that if the winner decides to keep the luxurious property, the £250,000 would enable them to comfortably run the house for around ten years.
If they decide to rent it out, local estate agents estimate that the property could achieve a long-term rental value of between £10K to £12K per month.
VR equipment and 3D printed organs at UCL working on behalf of BHF (Image: Omaze)
Omaze has guaranteed BHF a minimum donation of £1 million from the partnership.
This is the third time the BHF has partnered with Omaze. The two previous partnerships, in 2021 and 2023, raised a combined £3 million.
James Oakes said: “Everyone at Omaze is thrilled to be partnering with BHF again for our latest house draw.
“By offering this regal property in Bath, along with £250,000 in cash, Omaze gives people the chance to win a life-changing prize, whilst also raising money for charities.
“The eventual winner is free to decide what they want to do with the house. They can move in and not have to worry about any costs, thanks to the £250,000 settling in money; they can rent it out for additional income; or they can sell up and cash in to become a multi-millionaire – the choice is entirely theirs!”
He added: “Our charity partners get introduced to vast new audiences that they wouldn’t otherwise reach. We’re extremely proud that the Omaze Community has raised over £72 million for good causes across the UK.”
Draw entries for the Omaze Million Pound House Draw, Bath, are available now at . The Grand Prize Draw closes Sunday 26th January 2025 for online entries and Tuesday 28th January 2025 for postal entries.
Entrants can also choose to subscribe to Omaze to be automatically entered into every new Grand Prize Draw when their subscription renews on the first of each month. Omaze subscribers receive four times the number of entries compared to non-subscribers and can cancel their subscription at any time.
For full terms and conditions, see . No purchase necessary to enter. Over 18s and UK residents only.