Great Ormond Street: Mother of former patient wins £3.5m house in draw to raise money for hospital's charity

A woman, whose son had lifesaving surgery at Great Ormond Street when he was only three months old, has won a £3.5m house in a competition raising money for the hospital's charity.

Heekyoung Jin said she decided to enter the contest for the property in Wimbledon, southwest London, as the cause is "very close to our [family's] hearts".

Ms Jin paid £25 for a ticket bundle in June for the draw, which has now raised £500,000 for GOSH Charity.

And she and her partner, Tom Hall, were surprised to discover they had won the five-bedroom, multi-million pound home after organisers told them with a festive reveal, using carol singers and messages on big cards.

Their son, Lukas, was just two months old when he was diagnosed with a rare condition that caused an irregular growth on his chest, and he underwent surgery at the world-famous medical centre.

Ms Jin, a demand and inventory analyst, said: "Great Ormond Street Hospital saved my child's life, every single one of its staff were amazing.

"Thanks to them, Lukas is now a healthy and happy boy.

"We entered the Omaze Million Pound House Draw as the GOSH Charity is obviously very close to our hearts."

Ms Jin and Mr Hall, a software engineering manager, have been together for 10 years and currently live in Wallington, south London.

She said they will be moving into their new Wimbledon property "as soon as possible" and Lukas "has already chosen his room".

She added: "We used to live in a one-bed flat in Wimbledon and would often walk past these houses imagining what it would be like to live in one, and now we actually do."

All stamp duty and legal fees are covered and Ms Jin has also been given £20,000 in cash to help with running costs.

The draw has raised £500,000 to help fund GOSH Charity's pioneering research, state-of-the-art medical equipment, and support services for children and their families.

The charity's chief executive, Louise Parkes, said: "The pandemic has had a significant impact on our ability to fundraise so the money raised by this Omaze campaign will make a real difference."