KOTA KINABALU: The cost of treating patients suffering from congenital heart disease is now 40 percent more expensive.
According to Society for the Sabah Heart Fund (SOSHCF) honorary secretary, Eva Susau when met by the Borneo Post, due to the price hike in treatment cost, the society was in dire need to raise more funds so that children suffering from the condition but could not afford the large treatment sum involved will be able to be treated swiftly.
Unfortunately, raising funds for the cause, no matter how noteworthy has been very difficult, said Eva.
“We are trying to clear the backlog but there are new cases of children suffering from the ailment coming in all the time,” she said.
She hoped members of the public and the business community would come forward and help them to send as many children requiring urgent corrective heart surgery as possible.
“Any amount (of money) is welcome. And what is donated to us is also tax deductible,” she said.
Eva also hoped for more collaboration such as the one SOSHF has with Korean NGOs whereby children suffering from the ailment were flown to South Korea to undergo corrective surgery.
“We are very grateful to the Korean hospital and Korean NGOs for their assistance,” she said.
Aside from South Korea, SOSHF also sends patients with the condition to Gleneagles Hospital in Peninsular Malaysia as well as to the Institut Jantung Negara (IJN).
“These are usually the more serious cases,” she said.
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