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Worldwide, the incidence of congenital heart defects is approximately one out of every 100 children born annually, and nearly one-third of these require surgery in the first year of life. Without treatment, 20% of these children will die within the first few weeks of life. In the United States and other developed nations, experienced doctors and state-of-the-art equipment are available to provide care to these children. But in many underdeveloped countries around the world, this is not the case. Hundreds of these children die unnecessarily because there is no one to help them. The International Children's Heart Foundation's (ICHF) mission is to provide medical care to children in underdeveloped countries with congenital heart defects. Since 1994, ICHF medical teams have operated on over 1800 children in 17 different countries. The International Children's Heart Foundation (ICHF) made its first trip to Minsk, Belarus in December of 1996. We have now operated on 89 children in Minsk. Additionally, we have provided almost $300,000 in donated supplies and equipment over the years. We have educated surgeons, anesthesiologists, intensivists, cardiologists, ICU and operating room nurses, and have provided the funds for two physicians to come to Memphis for advanced education. But much more help is needed. Due to the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station explosion 16 years ago, health professionals are reporting an increase in birth defects in children born in this region. An average of 900 new cases a year of congenital heart defects are turning up that are directly related to the Chernobyl disaster, with about 6000 children already on the waiting list who need operations. Our goal is for the Belarusian physicians to become educated and experienced in the treatment of children with congenital heart defects so that they can function independently and no longer require our services. The Rotary Gift of Life Foundation and the ICHF teamed up to provide cardiac operations to 23 children in Minsk, Belarus October 18 - November 1, 2003. With a $32,000 grant from The Rotary District 7470 Gift of Life Foundation, the ICHF assembled a 15- member team of volunteer doctors, nurses and technicians who traveled to Minsk. This was the fourth time an ICHF medical team had been to Belarus and the 89th ICHF sponsored trip. The team, led by Dr. William M. Novick, consisted of one pediatric cardiovascular surgeon, two anesthesiologists, one OR nurse, one perfusionist, two intensivists, six ICU nurses, one cardiologist and one respiratory therapist. The group was very diverse, traveling from three different countries and speaking two different languages, all teaming up for one common goal -- to provide hope to children with congenital heart defects. Each day, the ICHF medical and surgical teams worked side-by-side with the local teams, teaching them the latest techniques in caring for children with congenital heart defects. One of the goals during these trips is to teach the local staff to take care of their own children so that outside services will eventually no longer be necessary. When the team left Minsk on Saturday, November 1, 23 children had received operations that would not have been possible without the support of the Rotary Gift of Life Foundation. The parents of the children that benefited from these operations were extremely happy and appreciative of the "gift of life" their children had received.
The International Children's Heart Foundation extends its sincere thanks to the Rotary District 7470 Gift of Life Foundation for making this trip possible and for helping provide operative procedures for these children.
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Copyright © 2004 Gift of Life of NJ, Inc.
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District 7470, Gift of Life
