Adliya Rotarians recently visited the Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa Cardiac Centre (MKCC) where they launched the Gift of Life Bahrain initiative.
During the visit, the members of the Rotary Club of Adliya met with Dr. Resan Humoud Badran, MKCC’s Director, and Prof. Dr. Mary Lynch-Tareif, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist. RCA President Mahmood Al Yousif, Rotarians Khulood Al Qattan and Dr. Faiza Ghabrial were briefed on the incidence of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) in Bahrain and the services provided by MKCC.
“We have previously wrongly assumed that no such centre exists in Bahrain, and that a CHD centre should be established from scratch. The visit to MKCC has abundantly demonstrated that a world-class facility does indeed exist which is highly sought after not only by patients in Bahrain, but from as far afield as Sudan and other international locations,” the club said in a statement.
However, it added, a diagnosis, monitor- ing and basic treatment facility is still required at the central medical hospital on the island, and although it may not be necessary to establish a second centre such as that available at MKCC, the Salmaniya Medical Centre (SMC) does require the necessary paediatric tools to enable it to conduct informed diagnosis and offer treatment to patients in cooperation with MKCC.
Rotary Club launches Gift of Life initiative - Members of the Rotary Club of Adliya are seen during their visit to the MKCC.
As part of its Gift of Life initiative, the club will raise funds to provide the SMC with the necessary equipment, with the first fund-raising activity being scheduled for October 1 in cooperation with Think Pink Bahrain. The first event will consist of a walkathon and several other events are already well into the planning stages with activities to take place regularly from October until June 2011.
The MKCC has been diagnosing, monitoring and surgically treating CHD patients since its inception in 1992. They have fully trained and world-renowned cardiologists and surgeons, such as Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Habib Tareif and Paediatric Cardiologist Dr. Neal Kallis. Surgeries are conducted at both MKCC and the SMC.
CHD prevalence rates worldwide aver- age between 3.75 and 4.3 out of every 1,000 live births. Bahrain has between 12,000 and 14,000 live births annually and a total of 826 patients with Congenital Heart Disease have been identified by the centre over a recent 4-year period. This translates to 15.88 per 1,000 live births – an average that is significantly higher than the global incidence rate.
10 per cent of these patients require surgery in their first year of life, while 4 to 5 per cent require surgery within the first 3 months of their lives.
The majority of operations are con- ducted at MKCC by qualified staff and a smaller number are conducted at SMC. A small number of complex cases are referred abroad.
The government covers all costs for Bahraini citizens sent abroad for treatment through the Overseas Treatment Committee.
The Centre has surgically treated 887 CHD patients since its founding, averaging 60 patients annually. It has also con- ducted over 11,000 echoes and actively monitors 3,246 patients on a regular basis, 297 of whom have undergone catheterisation interventions.
This article appeared with thanks in the Bahrain Tribune on 27 July, 2010.