Support for Heart Valve Centre: ‘They’ve got hearts of gold’
While her husband Nicolaas Blonk was ill, alumnus Constance Scholten always felt able to contact his doctor. The excellent care he received at the LUMC Heart Valve Centre gave Blonk five more years of life. Scholten decided use part of his estate to establish a named fund in support of the centre.
The Nicolaas A.M. Blonk Fund was officially launched on 11 November 2025. To commemorate her husband, Constance Scholten invited a small group of people to the launch. ‘It’s a positive way to honour someone while also looking to the future’, says Scholten. ‘The fund keeps his memory alive.’
‘The fund keeps his memory alive.’
The objective of the Nicolaas A.M. Blonk Fund aims to support the LUMC Heart Valve Centre. ‘During my husband’s treatment there, we saw how dedicated everyone was’, she says. The couple particularly appreciated the personal contact with Dr Nina Ajmone Marsan, coordinator of the cardiology department. ‘If I was worried about something or had a question, I would leave a message with her secretary, and Dr Ajmone Marsan would often call me back the very same day. Despite her busy schedule, she’s completely devoted to her patients.’
When her husband died in December 2024, Scholten inherited his estate. ‘A friend of mine, who is also a Leiden University alumnus, had established a named fund in memory of her late husband’, she says. ‘She once invited me to a LUF event, and that was what inspired me. Together with people from the LUF and researchers at LUMC, I worked out the fund’s purpose.’
The fund has two objectives: to support the development of new methods for studying valve narrowing, and to provide funding for PhD candidates and postdocs to attend the annual European Society of Cardiology Congress. ‘I hope that many young researchers will be able to go, because they are the future.’
Would you like to learn more about the possibilities for establishing a Named Fund? Or are you considering contributing to an existing fund? For more information, please contact at h.boumeester@luf.leidenuniv.nl or 071 527 5539.
This article previously appeared in the LUF magazine.