Medical Document Translation Progeria Research Case Study

As part of their fundamental work, Progeria Research Foundation needed patient outreach documents and informed consent forms translated into more than 15 languages in order to move forward in finding the cure for Progeria, a pediatric disease of early aging. Although the case was highly delicate in nature, Language Connections was able to provide medical document translation efficiently and accurately.

The Client:

Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Bens found out that their son had been diagnosed with Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome in 1998. When trying to help their son, they realized that there was no support system as well as a lack of research concerning progeria. Soon after with the help of family, friends, and colleagues, The Progeria Research Foundation, Inc. (PRF) was founded and became the only non-profit organization in the world dedicated to progeria research.

Challenges:

The foundation conducted an investigation for their first experimental treatment, Lonafarnib. 28 children from 16 countries participated in the study over a period of two and a half years, during which the children traveled to Boston every four months. This resulted in hard and tight deadlines to adhere to.

The material that was to be translated included consent forms as well as other patient documents which were legally binding. Thus, the highest possible translation accuracy was required; the challenge was in adhering to legal guidelines and maintaining scientific veracity while making the text comprehensible for research participants with a 6^th grade education level on average.

The children participating in the research spoke a variety of different languages, including some uncommon ones such as Marathi, Telugu, Urdu, Bulgarian, Kannada, and Swahili. The documents translated for them included food diary instructions, medication teaching sheets, efficiency reports, and consent forms, all of which necessitate experience and subject matter expertise.

The Solution:

Despite the difficulty of finding qualified linguists in the abovementioned rare languages, Language Connections secured a team of professional translators with a strong background in the life sciences as well as familiarity with legal terminology. Coupled with the in-house project managers, our team employed a unique combination of expertise in addition to excellent time management skills.

The medical data involved in this project played a critical role in bettering or even saving children’s lives; thus, the utmost translation quality assurance with additional layers of post-translation editing and proofreading was necessary.

After all of the documents were translated, the Progeria Research Foundation was left highly satisfied and looked forward to continue working with Language Connections for future translation needs.