1,300 disadvantaged patients receive heart and eye surgery support from Vinamilk's program

“Healthy heartbeat” for hundreds of sick children

Wearing a school uniform with a red scarf on his shoulder, Nguyen Hoa Minh - a 9th grade student at Dong Khoi Secondary School, Mo Cay Nam District, Ben Tre Province, is one of the children who have just had successful heart surgery from the "Saving Children with Congenital Heart Disease" Program organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Association for the Support of Poor Patients (Association), with the support of Vinamilk for nearly 30 years. Thanks to timely intervention, Hoa Minh's health is gradually improving, no longer feeling tired or out of breath as often as before.

“My family is so poor, without the help of the aunts and uncles in the Association and Vinamilk, I would not have had the conditions to have surgery. I thank you very much,” Hoa Minh said with emotional eyes, at the same time expressing his wish to get well soon to continue studying and work to help his parents.

According to the boy's father, Nguyen Van Hoa, Minh is not only a good student, an excellent student for 8 consecutive years, but also very filial. After school, he always goes to his parents' workplace to help out. "The co-workers asked him 'why don't you take a day off', and he replied 'I feel sorry for my father who is sick and still works hard, so I try to help him'. I love him very much, I just hope he is healthy, gets a good education so he can have a brighter future than his parents", Mr. Hoa choked up.

Not only Hoa Minh, since 1995, Vinamilk has accompanied the Association to contribute to "continuing" the future for thousands of patients in difficult circumstances, especially children. Of which, more than 1,000 patients were supported with eye surgery, regaining their sight to study and work; nearly 300 children with congenital heart defects also received free surgery, with a total value of more than 8.2 billion VND.

Meeting and listening to stories from families whose children had successful heart surgery, Mr. Do Thanh Tuan - Director of External Relations of Vinamilk shared the motivation for Vinamilk to persistently accompany the program.

“Over the past 30 years, many children have overcome their illnesses and become useful citizens to society. Many of them have returned to help children in similar situations. These are wonderful fruits from the seeds we have sown, contributing to spreading love and compassion in society,” Mr. Tuan emphasized.

Persistent with the mission of care

In Vietnam, on average each year there are more than1.5 million children born, of which about 10,000-12,000 children have congenital heart disease. Of these children, about 50% have very severe congenital heart disease, but only about 5,000 children receive surgery.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association for the Support of Poor Patients – Dr. Tran Thanh Long said that the cost for each heart surgery is about 70 to more than 200 million VND. This is a very high number compared to the average payment conditions of Vietnamese families, especially those in difficult circumstances.

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If surgery is performed promptly, patients with congenital heart defects can often recover quickly and live a healthy life like normal people. We are very happy to see the changes in the lives of these children and appreciate the persistent support of businesses like Vinamilk, to contribute to increasing the rate of children with congenital heart disease receiving surgery.

Dr. Tran Thanh Long - Chairman of the Association for Supporting Poor Patients of Ho Chi Minh City

In addition to the Ho Chi Minh City Association for the Support of Poor Patients, since 2019, Vinamilk has also accompanied the international organization MD1World and leading pediatric and heart hospitals to support heart surgery for children in difficult circumstances. In addition to supporting the cost of surgeries, the program also creates opportunities for Vietnamese doctors to exchange experiences and improve their professional knowledge with pediatric heart surgery experts from the US and Canada.

Identifying children as a priority for care, in addition to nutrition support programs such as the Vietnam Grow Up Milk Fund (since 2008, more than 42 million milk boxes have been donated), Vinamilk has continuously carried out activities to support children in special circumstances. The biggest goal that the enterprise pursues is that all children have the opportunity to live a healthy life, maximize their physical and mental development, and contribute to the development of the country's future generations.