Sunil Gavaskar joins congenital heart disease treatment campaign

At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic imposed major stress on healthcare resources, the Rotary Club of Bombay Airport raised around Rs 2.17 crore for free paediatric heart surgeries for children with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) at Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Centre for Child Heart Care in Kharghar in the satellite township of Navi Mumbai.

Legendary cricketer and former Team India skipper Sunil Gavaskar, who has been championing the cause of CHD through various awareness and non-profit programmes, joined the campaign initiative.

Rotary Club of Bombay Airport president Nitin Mehta raised Rs 2.17 crore to give a new lease of life to around 150 children suffering from CHD.

“It becomes more challenging for parents from the rural areas to access specialised medical care in a private hospital. Many families cannot afford the expensive treatment or reach facilities providing low-cost treatment in time. Awareness and early intervention can help ease the problems faced by them. There is a need for a proactive response from the corporates and HNIs to provide generous funding,” he said.

The Little Maestro said, "In the game of cricket, the opening batsmen lay the foundation for the rest of the team to come forward and make a contribution. My request is for you to spread the message and to tell the world of the work that is being done here towards a healthier and better world.”

Every year around 2,50,000 children are born with heart problems and only 50,000 of these are treated.

Close to 25 per cent succumb to the disease within the first year, and the rest go untreated, creating a huge backlog nationally.

This year, many hospitals across the country witnessed a reduction in their CHD programmes due to Covid-19; the availability of staff, equipment, resources, and operating rooms for Paediatric Cardiac Surgeries were affected, further burdening the long-pending list of children with CHD.

The Rotary Club of Bombay Airport along with partner club Rotary Club of Fort Wayne, USA, Rotary Districts 3141 & 5360, and a global grant from Rotary International, raised USD 2,93,000, equivalent to Rs 2.17 crore for paediatric heart surgeries at Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Centre for Child Heart Care.

C Sreenivas, Chairman, Sri Sathya Sai Health & Education Trust said, “We thank Rotary Club of Bombay Airport who came forward to support the children with CHD during the Covid19 pandemic. Since the launch of the programme to date, around 85 surgeries were successfully performed and by May ’21, we will perform the other 65 surgeries. Around 750 surgeries and interventions are planned for this year, and from next year, this number would be around 1800 – 2000 annually”.