#ShowYourStripes Online Gallery is LIVE – Find your photo!

5th March 2025 A huge THANK YOU to all of those who took part in the #ShowYourStripes for Rare Disease Day campaign, last week. We are delighted to announce that the online gallery is now live on https://www.m4rd.org/2025/03/04/rare-disease-day-2025-gallery/.

Rare Awareness for Healthcare Professionals 

Hundreds of people, across the UK and beyond, joined forces on 28th Feb to help drive awareness for rare disease, by wearing stripey socks! Enthusiasm for the campaign was incredible and we were overwhelmed by the show of support from our hardworking NHS staff and passionate rare disease advocates, nationwide.

Visual Support for those impacted by Rare Conditions

Showing your stripes for rare disease not only drives awareness, it also provides a very visual show of support for those living with and impacted by rare conditions. The rare community adopted the zebra as a reminder that when you ‘hear hooves’, it isn’t always a horse, and the zebra stripes are a community-known symbol of support. By taking part in the campaign and sharing your stripey sock photographs, you have shown the rare community that you see them.

Collaborations

Raising HCP awareness of rare diseases is one of the four key priorities outlined in the UK Rare Disease Framework and Action Plans, outlined by the Department of Health and Social Care. Medics for Rare Disease is proud to have worked alongside the Department of Health and Social Care, Health Education England and numerous Trusts, hospitals and universities, to reach HCPs and healthcare students throughout the NHS. The team at Medics for Rare Diseases would like to extend a massive thank you to everyone who helped share the campaign and all those who showed their stripes of support for Rare Disease Day 2025!

About Medics for Rare Disease

Medics for Rare Disease* is a charity registered in England and Wales, with a mission to shape a medical profession that can provide people living with rare conditions a timely diagnosis and excellent care. It does this through three key pillars:

• Advocating a single-discipline approach to rare disease education for all medical professionals
• Defining excellence in rare disease medical training in the UK
• Building a network of Ambassadors to expand the reach of Rare Disease training

To find out more visit www.m4rd.org.

Medics for Rare Disease partners with commercial companies in order to receive funding and to progress its mission. The charity works independently from these companies. Sponsorship does not equate to endorsement of any company or its products. To find out more visit www.m4rd.org/sponsors

Thank you to our 2025 Partners for supporting the work of the charity: emotive, Alexion AstraZeneca Rare Disease, Amicus Therapeutics, emotive, Kyowa Kirin, Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK, Parexel, SOBI, Takeda UK & Ultragenyx. 

*Charity number 1183996. Registered address: Medics 4 Rare Diseases, Unit 12, Treadaway Technical Centre, Treadaway Hill, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP10 9RS.