Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 8 August 2025

1. Who We Are This privacy policy explains how the Acute Leukaemia Advocates Network (ALAN), which is formally hosted by the Leukemia Patient Advocates Foundation (Stiftung Leukämiepatientenvertreter) (“we”, “us”, “our”), collects, uses, and protects your personal data. We are the data controller for the information collected through our website (https://acuteleuk.org) and other activities.

  • Organisation Name: Leukemia Patient Advocates Foundation (Stiftung Leukämiepatientenvertreter)
  • Registered Address: P.O.B. 453, CH-3000 Bern 7, Switzerland
  • Contact Email: info@acuteleuk.org

2. What Personal Data We Collect We may collect and process the following types of personal data:

  • Identity Data: Your first name and last name.
  • Contact Data: Your email address, postal address, and telephone number.
  • Technical Data: Your IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting, operating system, and information about your use of our website.
  • Usage Data: Information about how you use our website, products, and services, including which pages you visit.
  • Communications Data: Your preferences in receiving communications from us.
  • [Optional but Recommended: Add a statement on Special Category Data here. For example: “Special Category Data: We do not typically collect sensitive personal information (such as health data) through our general contact forms or mailing list sign-ups. Should you provide such information to us in any communication, we will only process it with your explicit consent or as otherwise permitted by law.”]

3. How and Why We Use Your Personal Data (Legal Basis) We only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your data in the following circumstances:

  • With Your Consent: Where you have given us explicit consent to do so, for example, by signing up for our newsletter. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
  • For our Legitimate Interests: Where it is necessary for our interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. For example, to analyse website usage to improve our services.
  • To Comply with a Legal Obligation: Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.

The table below describes how we use your data and our legal basis for doing so:

Purpose/Activity Type of Data Lawful Basis for Processing
To send you newsletters and updates Identity, Contact Consent
To respond to your enquiries Identity, Contact Legitimate Interests (to respond to you effectively)
To manage and secure our website Technical Legitimate Interests (to ensure network security)
To understand how our audience uses our website Technical, Usage Legitimate Interests (to improve our website and services)

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them, please see our Cookie Policy.

5. Who We Share Your Data With We do not sell your personal data. We may share your data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in our operations, such as:

  • Email marketing services (e.g., Mailchimp)
  • Website hosting providers
  • Analytics providers (e.g., Google Analytics)

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law.

6. International Data Transfers As we are based in Switzerland, your data may be processed here. We may also transfer your data to third-party service providers located outside of Switzerland, the UK, or the European Economic Area (EEA).

Transfers between Switzerland, the UK, and the EEA are based on mutual adequacy decisions, which means the data protection laws in these regions are considered comparable and data can flow freely.

For transfers to countries without an adequacy decision (such as the United States), we will ensure your data is protected by implementing appropriate safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the relevant authorities.

7. Data Security We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way. These measures include data encryption and access control policies. However, data transmission over the internet is not completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data sent to us electronically.

8. Data Retention We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or reporting requirements.

9. Your Data Protection Rights Under data protection law, you have rights including:

  • Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
  • Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate.
  • Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to object to processing – You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.

10. How to Exercise Your Rights or Opt-Out To exercise any of your rights, or to opt-out of receiving communications from us, please contact us at:

  • Email: info@acuteleuk.org
  • Post: Leukemia Patient Advocates Foundation, P.O.B. 453, CH-3000 Bern 7, Switzerland

You can unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of every email we send.

11. Links to Other Websites This privacy notice does not cover the links within this site linking to other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy We keep our privacy policy under regular review. Any updates will be posted on this page. This policy was last updated on 8 August 2025.

13. How to Complain If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at the contact details above. You also have the right to complain to the relevant data protection authority.

  • In Switzerland, this is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC).
  • In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
  • For the EU, you can lodge a complaint with the authority in your country of residence.