Alison Rogers (left) with colleagues Gemma Thomas, Sandra Cooper, Jill Elsey and Emma Ribbons. 3/2/5 THE British Liver Trust, which helps people suffering from liver disease, has just celebrated its first birthday at its new headquarters in Ringwood.

It is unusual for the town to be the central location for the activities of a national charity, but, says its chief executive Alison Rogers, the move to the New Forest was a logical step.

"We have always had free office space donated by companies such as Unigate and British Gas," she says.

When the last arrangement with Ipswich-based horticultural suppliers Textron came to an end, new premises were sought.

"I was commuting from Ringwood and the chairman lives in Southampton, so we thought that if we had to pay for offices, we might as well be closer to home and make it more convenient."

Now she and her small staff, plus voluntary helpers, occupy a suite of offices above the Portman Building Society in the High Street.

"But we are still looking for free office space," she adds hopefully. "We are currently wasting valuable resources on rent."

It is one of the reasons why voluntary assistance is much valued and the trust is always keens to hear from people living locally who have a few hours to spare each week.

Alison (40) trained as a chartered accountant, but moved into the voluntary sector early in her career.

She was involved with the trust before, from 1992 to 1997.

Since then she has married and had a son, Daniel, who is now three years old. This makes it more difficult for Alison to commute long distances and be away from home, a barn conversion she shares with husband Peter Sutton.

"I juggle," says Alison. "I work part-time three days a week and can work from home when I need to.

"I am realistic about what I can do if I have got Daniel with me and I am clear about when I can take calls and when not."

She says it helps that the organisation is staffed entirely by women - flexibility in the workplace is almost a matter of policy here.

The British Liver Trust was founded in 1988.

"Our aim is to help people with liver disease," says Alison. "Alcohol causes 50 per cent of cases, but viruses like hepatitis C, inherited diseases, metabolic diseases and obesity all impact on the liver.

"The thing that people either forget or don't know is that you have only one liver and, unlike kidney failure, there is no dialysis.

"People can die on transplant lists and hard decisions sometimes have to be made about who gets a new liver."

The liver transplant operation itself has been around now for over 25 years and more than 10,000 people have had it, but donors are still in short supply.

Part of the trust's brief is education and awareness, both inside and outside the medical profession.

The BLT produces around 30 information leaflets on a range of liver diseases and sends out about 300,000 of them each year.

Alison would like to see a research fund built up and better co-ordination of support groups around the country. Much of her time is spent in London, lobbying and talking to charities and donor companies.

"Because of the reorganisation of the NHS we have to put more pressure on MPs to make sure research into liver disease is adequately funded," she says. "Liver disease is not a killer on the level of heart disease, but about 10,000 people die as a result each year."

If you have time to spare and would like to help out at the British Liver Trust, call 01425 463080.