(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Two Iraqi children are set to arrive in Israel today (Thursday, 11 October 2007) for emergency heart surgery. Both children were screened by Israeli doctors during a one-day cardiology clinic set up for 40 Iraqi children in Jordan, organized by Israeli-based organization, Save A Child's Heart on October 9, 2007.
Israeli doctors immediately referred a 5 month old girl and an 11-year-old boy from Iraq for emergency medical treatment in Israel due to the severity of their heart conditions, which if not treated, would leave them at risk of dying at any moment.
40 Iraqi children, accompanied by their parents, made the journey from Iraq to Jordan where they were screened by a SACH medical team, including, Dr. Akiva Tamir, Head of Pediatric Cardiology, Dr. Alona Raucher-Sternfeld, Pediatric Cardiologist and Dr. Sion Houri, Director of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, based at the Wolfson Medical Center in Israel. General Electric equipped the team with a state of the art, portable echocardiogram machine which greatly assisted with the diagnosis of children.
Logistical support for the mission was provided by the Christian group, Shevet Achim and medical facilities were offered by the Red Crescent Hospital in Amman.
Since January 2007, SACH has operated on 18 Iraqi children. To date, a total of 35 children from Iraq have been treated by the organization at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon. Iraqi children who arrive in Israel with their family, reside at the SACH Children's Home in Azur.
Save A Child’s Heart provides life-saving heart surgeries for children from developing countries regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or gender. Since its inception in 1996, SACH has treated over 1700 children from 28 countries around the world including; Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Rwanda, Moldova, Vietnam and China. Close to half of the total number of children treated at SACH are Palestinian or from Arab countries including Jordan and Iraq. Follow up care and comprehensive medical training are also an integral part of SACH’s core mission and activities.