Mito Foundation is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of people impacted by mitochondrial disease (mito) and driving improvements in treatment, preventions and cures. We do this through the support services and events available to mito community members, as well as a strong focus on driving research into mito, into new therapies and advocating for improvements in health services, diagnosis and treatments.
We do this in collaboration with mito community members who contribute their experiences to setting our advocacy priorities, informing our submissions and being involved in policy development that affects the mito community. Click here to meet the Mito Community Advisory Panel.
Celebrating progressÂ
Improving diagnosis
Australian research and advocacy have led to Medicare funding of genetic testing for mito in Australia. Genetic testing has the potential to make diagnosing mito faster, easier and more precise.
Improving health care
The publication of Patient Care Standards for mito is helping to improve health care in Australia by equipping health professionals with the information they need to provide high quality care.
Preventing mito
Australia is the second country in the world to legalise mitochondrial donation, an IVF technique that will allow some families with mito to avoid passing their gene change to the next generation. Read more about mitochondrial donation and mitoHOPE.
What we’re learning from the UK’s early experience
Two major research papers have just been published, sharing the first detailed results from the UK’s mitochondrial donation program. These results are a key step forward and offer hope to families at risk of having a child with mito.
As of July 2025:
These early results are reassuring—but researchers will continue to monitor the children’s health over time to learn more.
We’ve created a plain language summary to help you understand the findings and what they mean for Australia.
Research in Australia
Introducing our 10-year action plan to increase clinical trials of mito in Australia.
Clinical trials are a vital step in finding effective treatments, and there are now more mito trials than ever before. There’s real hope on the horizon for people impacted by mito.
But Australians have had limited access to recent clinical trials. Without local trials, Australians may be missing out.
Learn more about our 10-year action plan, which sets out the steps to make this happen below.
Powering progress
A plan to increase clinical trials for mitochondrial disease in Australia
Explore studies that will help advance medical treatments for mito and improve health outcomes for individuals affected by mito
Mito Registry
The Mito Registry's main goal is to gather patient data to bring clinical trials to Australia. This helps our mito community access the newest medicines and treatments.
Mito Community Voice
The mito community voice drives the Mito Foundation’s work. We actively and regularly seek input from Australians impacted by mito, their families and carers to guide our priorities and contribute to our work towards better outcomes for the mito community.
Your donations at work
Thank you to all our supporters for making a real difference for people impacted by mito.
Your support has helped to improve diagnosis, fund world-class research and connect community members with helpful information and referrals.
Find out more about the impact made by funds raised over the past six months.
Raising awareness of mito
