New Steps Forward in Our Global Fight Against Heart Disease

June 15, 2017

Dear friend,

We are making progress!

Surgeons of Hope is focusing on continuing work established in primary sites while simultaneously beginning new projects to broaden the horizon of pediatric cardiac care in Latin America. In addition to over 180 and 240 surgeries projected to take place in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, respectively, we will be sending an assessment team to Paraguay this upcoming September to begin work there. Additionally, thanks to the support of the Children of Peru Foundation, we will be sending our first mission to Lima in November!

Infographic of past surgeries and future missions in Latin America

Current Status of Pediatric Congenital Heart Disease
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there are approximately 1,064,000 children born with CHD every year, unfortunately, 90% of these children are born in underserved countries. Hence, 957,600 of these children will not have access to modern treatment. 30% of these children will die in their first years of life. it is much easier to access open heart surgery in America, a country with 2,087 pediatric cardiologists, than in Nicaragua, a country that has merely four pediatric cardiologists for its population of six million! But thanks to your support, Surgeons of Hope is able to provide life-saving care to these children in need. Missions are continually being sent to Latin America, allowing over 10 surgeries to be performed in as little as one week. Furthermore, close to 20,000 screenings are performed by our teams each year to ensure that the proper pediatric care is delivered to those in need.

Heart disease statistics for the Surgeons of Hope program including how many surgeries have been performed

Global Giving Essential Pumps Project
Do you want to have a hand in helping a heart? Syringe pumps are key to affording a child critical life-altering heart surgery. Medicines need to be dispensed at just the right intervals and in just the right dosage to maintain the infant’s life balance during surgery and in the days after surgery. Success is when the tubes come out. In the picture below, OR and ICU nurse Ana Rosa dedicates her life to the infants and children under her care at our heart center in Nicaragua. She needs new syringe pumps for her patients and you can click the link below to support her. Every piece of equipment is a step ahead; the result is lasting progress.

Working with child heart disease patients at Surgeons of Hope

Here is the Global Giving link with more details of our project.

Think of Surgeons of Hope for Father’s Day!
Pictured below is little Yvonne and her father Danny. Thanks to your support, they are able to spend Father’s Day together this weekend. Amazon Smile is a simple way to support Surgeons of Hope every time you use Amazon to shop. Click here to find out more.

A father holding his daughter who received open-heart surgery with Surgeons of Hope

Thanks to your generosity, our teams are saving more children than ever before.
We are deeply grateful for your spirit, dedication, and commitment to Surgeons of Hope.