(From right) Eva Susau (SOSHF honorary secretary); Fashah Danielah with her parent; Mazlan with his father; Nur Assyifa Umayrah with her mother; Muhd Husaini bin Hasim with his parent; Kamirul bin Abdullah with his parent; Muhammad Azhar bin Hizan and his father and Simon Lee (second from left) of Korean Food For The Hungry International.
KOTA KINABALU: The Society for the Sabah Heart Fund (SOSHF) recently welcomed home six congenital heart patients who underwent successful surgery at the Bucheon Sejong Hospital in South Korea.
SOSHF honorary secretary Eva Susau said the six patients went to South Korea on May 22, this year, and returned home on June 7.
The patients were three-year-old Muhammad Husaini Hasim, four-year-old Kamirul Abdullah, 11-year-old Mazlan Abdul Usri, two-year-old Nur Assyifa Umayrah Suardi, three-year-old Fashah Danielah Sumizan and three-year-old Muhammad Azhar Hizan.
“We thank the Seong-An Heart Foundation, Korea for the collaboration with the Bucheon Sejong Hospital and many who have been involved in making this project a success, and especially the State Government of Sabah under the Ministry of Community Development and Consumer Affairs for generously granting the financial support,” said Eva.
She added that SOSHF hoped the programme will continue for a long time as it has really helped reduce the backlog of patients waiting to undergo corrective heart surgery.
In the recent project, SOSHF provided the sponsorship for the airfare cost, passport fees, insurance and allowances, whilst the cost of surgery, lodging and food for the patients and their guardians were borne by their Korean counterpart.
Eva briefly explained that the Heart Project with the Korean Seong-An Heart Foundation started in 2007 and since then, a total of 120 patients have benefited from the collaboration.
She said that in the near future (before the end of this year) another group of between six and eight patients will be flown to South Korea to undergo the corrective heart surgery. However, the exact date is still unknown due to the outbreak of MERS in South Korea presently, she said.
Eva also cited that 609 patients have undergone corrective heart surgery under the sponsorship of the SOSHF since 1981. And, since January of this year, six patients have gone to South Korea while five have gone to Kuala Lumpur to undergo the surgery.
Eva also mentioned on the issues related to funding and reiterated her appeal to the public and corporate organizations to donate generously to the society to help the less fortunate children suffering from the ailment that are in need of corrective heart surgery.
She explained that the cost of treatment has increased drastically and that now, the cost of sponsoring a child for corrective heart surgery in Kuala Lumpur is between RM35,000 to RM45,000 per patient.
The rate has increased by 30 percent, she said.
Those keen on donating can do so via the SOSHF Maybank current account: 5101-4311-2262 (Persatuan Tabung Pesakit Jantung Sabah) or call them at 088-228488 and 088-312715.