Crowdfunding for unmet medical needs: the case of CAR-T and Gofundme

Crowdfunding (CF) is the practice of financing a project by raising money from a large number of people. Many patients use online CF platforms to fund medical needs, whether unmet by their healthcare service - therefore to be sought elsewhere -, or when unable to afford them. CAR-T (Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells) is an innovative therapy approved to treat several types of lymphoma and with potential to treat many other cancers. CAR-T is available in most countries through clinical trials only and its diffusion is limited by high costs. Gofundme is a CF platform ’leader in online medical fundraising’. The objective of this study is to shed some light on the phenomenon of CF for CAR-T therapy, describing the campaigns started on Gofundme.