The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Helping children lead a bubbly life

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 21, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Helping children lead a bubbly life

Staff Reporter

17 children undergo heart surgery

40 underprivileged children to benefit from project
‘Over 1,50,000 children are born with CHD every year in India’

Bangalore: The parents of two-year-old Jaipratap from Salem were worried as their son always had cold and fever. Little did they know that he had a heart problem. Today, after a surgery through a community and matching grant project, the child is back home looking forward to a fulfilling life.

Seven-year-old Mithun from Mangalore was always feeling weak and had fever. His parents came to know of a scheme that helped children like him through a local Rotary representative. Today, he is a happy child and has started playing cricket, his favourite game.

These are two of the 17 beneficiaries of one of the biggest ever Community and Matching Grant Projects of Manipal Hospital, Bangalore, and Rotary International (RI).

The hospital and Rotary International have come together to facilitate the heart surgery of 40 underprivileged children suffering from Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). Seventeen operations have already been conducted so far, bringing back smiles on the faces of the parents, who could not afford the surgeries of their children.

Announcing the successful completion of the surgeries on the 17 children, representatives from Manipal Hospital and Rotary International briefed the media on the various ailments that these children suffered from and how the surgeries would now infuse new life in them.

“It gives us untold joy to see these children back on their feet, and we are happy that a total of 40 children will benefit from the Matching Grant Project,” said O.P. Khanna, who spearheaded the project.

“More than 1,50,000 children are born with congenital heart disease every year in India. The sad state of affairs is that only about 5,000 manage to get treated, mostly with sponsorships and government aid. There are a large number of children with serious heart diseases in India who can be given a new lease of life with timely heart surgery,” said Dr. Prasad Krishnan of Manipal Hospital.

Dr. Krishnan, along with paediatric cardiologists — Dr. Sreekanth Raghavan and Dr. Ravi Narayan — treated the patients. “We are happy that the paediatric cardiology team has been able to bring the smiles back on the faces of the children and their parents,” Dr. Krishnan said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News Update

Stories in this Section