The scale of rare diseases

• One in 17 people will suffer from a rare disease at some point in their lives
  
• In the UK alone that equates to approximately 3.5 million people
  
• Only a quarter of rare diseases have had their molecular basis defined, meaning many risk being undiagnosed and therefore untreated
  
• There are at least 6,000 rare diseases
  
• 75 per cent of rare diseases affect children
  
• Many rare diseases (approximately 80 per cent) are of genetic origin
  
• 30 per cent of rare disease patients dies before their fifth birthday