Mend a Broken Heart
Giving children with PDA heart disease a Chance in Life

The heart is a fist-sized organ that pumps blood throughout your body and the primary organ of your circulatory system. It is vital because it is said to be the most important part of our human body. 

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With the increasing number of children having heart diseases, the Rotary Club of Metro Iloilo initiated its flagship project “Mend a Broken Heart” that provides free heart surgery. 

 

Started during the term of Past President Ronnel Quiñon in 2006, the project has benefited hundreds of deserving individuals in Western Visayas. 

 

More than 100 beneficiaries were born with Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) availed of the free heart surgery, according to the records from the Medical City. The club listed that roughly P500,000 funds from different donors were allocated during the series of operations. 

 

PDA is a congenital condition where the fetal blood vessel does not close soon after birth (as it normally should). As it remains open, there is an irregular transmission of blood between the aorta and the pulmonary artery resulting in persistent respiratory problems such as hypoxia or the deprivation of adequate oxygen supply.

 

The impact of the project was effective, resulting in more patients asking for the same free operation. However, in 2010, the project temporarily stopped due to lack of funds. Seeing their growing list of children who needed immediate surgery, Past President Ray Celis and Rotarian Leo Malunes, who is a cardiovascular surgeon, revived the project through funds from Past District Governor Edgar Sy for two beneficiaries. 

The procedure to correct PDA is not cheap. A simple ligation ranges between Php 200,000 to 300,000 per patient to cover hospital accommodation, cardiac cath lab, supplies, medicine, doctors’ fees, among others. A trans-catheter procedure would even cost more. 

 

So RCMI partnered with Medical City-Iloilo and with this collaboration, the pediatric cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and anesthesiologists rendered their services pro bono, thereby reducing the surgical procedure at an average of P50,000 to cover other costs such as supplies and medicines. The cost may vary though depending on the complexity of the case. 

 

To ensure the project’s continuity, RCMI looked for international partners and in 2012, Past President Philip Co, the Rotary Club of Palo Alto of District 5170 in California, USA responded to fund eight children for immediate surgery. Soon, donations from other individuals who were touched by the children’s condition poured in, and by the end of the year, eleven patients were treated. 

 

That same year, RCMI’s efforts were recognized by the district and the club was named the Best Community Service Project.  

 

In RY 2013-2014, RCMI tapped another international partner, the Rotary Club of Itako, of District 2820 in Japan. Together, the two clubs applied and were awarded a Matching Grant from Rotary International to accommodate the long list of beneficiaries whose lives were at stake unless they get operated on. 

 

In 2018, as more hearts were touched, 17 children were treated while ten more remained in the waiting list for their turn to be treated.