SIX CHILDREN were the recent recipients of free open-heart surgery from the Jamaican Children's Heart Fund Inc. (JCHF), a not-for-profit organisation based in Hollywood, Florida.
Members of the paediatric cardiac surgery team led by Dr. Richard Perryman, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, donated their expertise to perform the surgeries for the children suffering with congenital and acquired heart disease at the University Hospital of the West Indies, over the period June 1-4.
The organisation, which was formed in 2004 and which had performed nine surgeries in March, targeted Jamaica because of the increase in the number of children who have congenital and acquired heart disease, and the long wait of many of the patients who need immediate surgery.
The JCHF has assisted a total of 96 children to date and has estimated the cost of the missions to be at $1.5 million. The cost has been defrayed by fund-raising and donation to the organisation from local and overseas organisations.
