9 lakh donation by Rotary Club
Rotary District Governor L. Narayanaswamy (second right) handing over a cheque from the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Central to Chairman of Kovai Medical Center and Hospital Nalla G. Palaniswami (second left) for the ‘Gift of Life’ project at a function in the city on Saturday.The Rotary Club of Coimbatore Central has donated Rs. 9 lakh to Kovai Medical Center and Hospital to perform surgery on poor children to correct congenital heart problems.The surgeries will be done with funds from the Rotary under a scheme of the Gift of Life that is based in New York in the U.S.The amount was handed over by the club to the hospital on Saturday as the first instalment of the funds that would be provided to treat problems such as atrial septal defect (hole in the wall of the upper chamber of the heart), ventricular septal defect (a hole in the lower chamber) and transposition of great arteries.A press release from the hospital said that the movement was formed in 1975 to fund open heart surgeries for children. So far, 7,000 children have benefited, the release said. As for the project here, the office-bearers of the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Central would screen the patients to know whether the children indeed came from families that could not afford the cost of surgery. The hospital would take up cases for surgery on the recommendation of the club.
Quoting from a global report on paediatric heart diseases, the hospital said in the release that congenital and acquired heart diseases affected millions of children throughout the world. But, a majority of them would not get the treatment they needed because of lack of funds and access to good heart care. Inadequate investment in healthcare was another reason.Consultant Cardio-thoracic Surgeon at the hospital M. Jothi said there were at least 100 infants, children and young adults who had been diagnosed with congenital heart diseases or valve defects.They required immediate surgery but poor economic condition denied this to them.With the help of the Rotary International, the hospital and the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Central would be able to save many young lives through the Gift of Life programme that sought to address the problem of funds constraints by covering the expenses for the surgery, the release said.
