PARTNER HOSPITAL

Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian is a heart surgeon who specializes in treating kids, and works closely with one of the largest heart hospitals in Asia, the Narayana Hrudayalaya in Bangalore, India, where until very recently he was consultant surgeon.

Details about the hospital are on the website at
http://www.hrudayalaya.com

The Director and Chief Surgeon, Dr.Devi Prasad Shetty, is a visionary whose ambition is to make heart surgery affordable to any Indian family. With this aim in mind, he has launched several ambitious programs including a farmer's insurance scheme that ensures tertiary heart care in specialized centers for all members of even the poorest agricultural workers in India.

While heart surgery can be very expensive in developed countries, it is not so in India. A child can receive a lifesaving procedure for just $3,000 - sometimes even less.

The reasons include lower cost of consumables and labor, larger patient numbers (over 3,500 last year) that bring down the cost per patient, and a philosophy of offering a service on not-for-profit terms.

To contact Narayana Hrudayalaya, email:
hrudayalaya@sify.com

This hospital does almost 3,500 heart operations a year, 30% of them in children, and many are done free of cost or at very discounted rates.

The funds raised through our Heart Kids Blogathon will be used entirely for the purpose of sponsoring some poor children at this hospital, or any other center which performs operations on the same charitable and not-for-profit basis. Details will be made available to all donors soon, and the process is being set up to streamline events to minimize donation-to-operation time in the future.