There is hope for hole-in-heart patients in the country as the Shen Yano and Shen Yuet Foundation commits to pay for the surgery of 25 patients yearly at the Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra for the next 10 years.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed between the foundation and KBTH, between about 25 hole-in-heart patients will undergo fully funded surgery annually for the next 10 years.

Statistically, one child out of 100 births has a heart or chest condition. Smoking, excessive drinking, long exposure to X-rays and poor eating habits by pregnant women are some of the causes of heart and chest conditions in children. The taking of drugs without prescription and the failure of some expectant mothers to attend antenatal care are the other causes.

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COST

On the average, heart surgery in Ghana costs between $6,000 and $13,000.

With the cost of heart surgery out of the reach of most Ghanaians, many patients are left to wait for the benevolence of individuals and organisations and in some cases die before care would arrive.

But there is hope now at least for the next 10 years because patients without the means to undergo surgery can apply for support from the Shen Yano and Shen Yuet Foundation.

The foundation is named after 17-year-old Shen Yano, himself a hole-in-heart survivor and son of Chinese investor Shen Chang who is the founder and chairman of the Sunda and Keda group of companies with operations in Ghana spanning nearly two decades and employing over 7,000 Ghanaians.

Realising the difficulties his son went through and the impact it had on his family after being diagnosed with hole-in-heart at six months old, he gladly accepted the call when businessman Herbert Mensah suggested to him the idea of lending a hand to help patients in need at the Cardiothoracic Centre at Korle Bu.

“It is an honour and a duty to lend a hand in this very important exercise and as an investor in this country for the last 19 years, I see myself as part of the Ghana story and so when Herbert Mensah suggested the idea to me I just accepted it because as a parent, I have been in such a situation before when my eldest son was diagnosed with the disease and today he is healed and doing well so we will do it for the next 10 years, pay for the cost of the surgery for the patients and will continue to mobilise resources for this noble cause,” he said.

For 17-year-old Shen Yano, it is an honour to be the face of the foundation and he promises to promote activities of the National Cardiothoracic Centre in China with the aim of attracting more financial support for the needy in desperate of care at the facility.

“I’m happy to be doing this because having survived what was a life-and-death matter and also looking at Ghanaian children whose parents cannot afford the cost of treatment, I will continue to ensure the foundation is able to do its job as promised.”

Consultant Surgeon at the National Cardiothoracic Centre, Dr. Kow Entsua Mensah said children with chest conditions, including hole-in-heart who are receiving treatment at the National Cardiothoracic Centre (NCC) of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra cannot undergo surgery because their parents are unable to raise the money for the surgery.

He worried that some of the children with hole-in-heart and other chest conditions died occasionally while waiting for their parents to raise the amount for the surgery.

“Unfortunately, a few of them pass away while waiting for help to come. It is something we do not like at all. A few children die before they can be helped,” he said.

Dr. Mensah is hopeful the 10-year project by the foundation will help treat children from poor backgrounds.

Chief Executive Officer of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah says because the cost of equipment was quoted in dollars, the recent depreciation of the cedi against the dollar had made it more difficult for parents to get the cedi equivalent.

He called on corporate bodies and individuals to go to the aid of children with hole-in-heart and other chest conditions to save their lives, saying it was through that support that the children could undergo surgery to correct their conditions, since their parents alone could not raise the amount needed for the surgery.

He indicated that children who were operated upon lived normal lives, while those who could not go through the surgery risked losing their lives.