A Chinese Investor and Chairman of Sunda Group, Shen Yanchang has offered to pay for the cost of surgery for children living with a hole-in-heart for the next ten years.
The project is expected to cover the medical and surgical expenses of 25 children.
Children who suffer from heart problems and cannot afford can apply for support from the Chengwua Foundation named after the 17-year-old son of the Chairman of Sunda Group, Shen Yanchang.
On average, heart surgery in Ghana costs between six thousand and 13 thousand dollars.
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.
Speaking to JoyNews’ Elton Brobbey on Friday, Mr. Yanchang said his decision to support children with heart problems was because his son at age five suffered a heart condition.
He added that realising the sorrowful moments his family went through after his son was diagnosed with a heart condition, he gladly accepted the idea when businessman, Herbert Mensah suggested to him to extend a hand to children at the cardiothoracic center.
“You know, when my elder son was born five months after, we got a report from the doctor that he had a heart disease. During that time, we felt a lot of pain and we went to a very good hospital in China, after the surgery he got better,” he said.
Recounting the horrible experience, the Chinese investor said after the surgery, his son, Shen-wan kept falling ill.
“After he got saved in the next four to five years, he is always sick because the body is not so strong,” he added.
Mr. Yanchang further empathised with parents whose children suffered from the illness.
The Sunda Group of companies has been operating in Ghana for the past 20 years.
For his part, a Consultant at the National Cardiothoracic Centre, Dr. Cole Mensah said doctors are pained to see a child with a hole-in-heart condition who might be left to suffer because their parents could not afford the medical costs.
“One of the pains that we have had is to see a child with a hole-in-heart condition who can be saved through relatively simple surgery and there are no resources to be able to do that.
“It is very painful, sometimes when you mention the amount and the parents break out in tears, because some of them cannot imagine what the equivalent of $6,000 dollars looks like. And to have the opportunity to do free surgeries for 25 children every year that’s a third of our capacity now and its extremely significant,” he noted.
Statistically, one child out of a hundred births has a heart or chest condition.
Smoking, excessive drinking, long exposure to X-rays and taking of certain drugs by pregnant women are the causes of heart conditions in children.
