Around 40 heart patients are set to undergo free surgery during the Philippine Gift of Life, Inc.’s largescale surgical mission conducted by a 50-strong operation team in Tagbilaran City starting today.
According to Gift of Life president Fancy Baluyot, the major surgical mission will be conducted at the Borja Family Hospital from September 9 until September 15.
The initiative will cater to underprivileged patients, 20 of whom are set to undergo open-heart surgery while over 15 patients will be subjected to minor heart operations.
Around 80 percent of the patients are from Bohol while the rest travelled all the way from Cavite, Bulacan, Negros and Lanao, said Baluyot.
The operations will be conducted by volunteer doctors and nurses from the United States, Cebu and Bohol.
Operation on each patient is projected to take three to ten hours, she added.
Earlier, medical supplies from across the globe including London and New York have also been shipped to Bohol for the surgical mission.
According to Baluyot, the operations are extended to the patients without any payment while some of their medicines are also provided for free.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Sec. Leoncio Evasco and Health Sec. Paulyn Ubial will be extending their support to the initiative as they are expected to personally visit the Borja Family Hospital.
The director of the Philippine Heart Center, Dr. Joel Abanilla, and chairman of the Heart Foundation of the Philippines, Dr. Avenilo P. Aventura, Sr., are also joining the event, said Baluyot.
The four-day series of operations is the ninth surgical mission conducted by the Philippine Gift of Life, Inc. in Tagbilaran City since 2003. (Allen Doydora)