Ambreen Ghaffur
A fundraising page set up in memory of a young pharmacist who died from COVID-19 has reached its target of £9,000 in just one week.
Sana Masood, a regular locum pharmacist at Neils Pharmacy in Prescot, Merseyside, died from COVID-19 on 1 April 2020, aged 30 years.
Masood, who was originally from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, was a preregistration student at Neils Pharmacy, where she was known as “little Sana”, and continued to work there regularly after qualifying.
Ambreen Ghaffur, a close friend and fellow pharmacist, set up the fundraising page on 15 April 2021 in memory of Masood. Initially, it was hoped that the money raised through the page would be put towards building school classrooms in rural, impoverished areas of Pakistan, from where Masood’s family originate.
However, owing to an “overwhelming response” in the first 24 hours, the target was raised to £9,000, the amount needed to build an entire school in the area.
On 23 April 2021, Ghaffur announced that the target of £9,000 had been met and that any further money raised would be donated to Diabetes UK, a charity close to Masood’s heart.
“I am deeply touched by everyone’s generous donations, with which we have now exceeded our target,” Ghaffur told The Pharmaceutical Journal.
“On behalf of Sana’s family, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time out to donate, share and raise awareness of this cause.”
