A group of children aged eight to 16 have been on Everest in the name of extreme science.
The pioneering expedition is part of a world first study into treatments for critically ill patients.
The 12 young human guinea pigs braved altitude sickness as well as a lack of heating, clean water and electricity to test how the body adapts to low oxygen levels.
Former Great Ormond Street patient Jack Elliot Major was on the trek, which reached altitudes of 3,500 metres.
The nine-year-old was two months old when he underwent successful surgery for a blocked bowel at the leading London hospital. His father Lee today described the trip to the world’s highest peak as “amazing”.
Dr Elliot Major, from north London, said: “We had an amazing time — Jack turned round to me one morning and said, ‘Dad, this is not so much a holiday as an adventure’ and that sums it up. It will stay in our memories for the rest of our lives. For us it also puts what happened to Jack when he was born into a new positive light.”
The Xtreme Everest expedition from Lukla to Namche Bazaar in Nepal was led by researchers and doctors from GOSH and UCL.
The aim is to better understand how to manage better the use of oxygen in intensive care units and treat sick children with low oxygen in their blood.
Dr Mark Peters, who led the expedition, said he hoped the results would answer crucial questions such as whether muscles extract oxygen more efficiently at altitude. The intensive care consultant from GOSH said: “The testing we are doing is a world first, because at high altitudes we can isolate the effect of low oxygen on otherwise healthy children.”
