Abu Dhabi: The aim was to provide 100 free heart surgeries to needy patients but, two years on, the need for these procedures has not diminished. Having always taken his corporate social responsibility seriously, Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, founder and managing director of VPS Healthcare, decided to extend the number of procedures offered to 1,000.
For his efforts, Dr Vayalil was presented with the United Nations’ Global Humanitarian Award earlier this month.
Speaking to Gulf News, he said that the initiative came about because he felt that it was the best way to give back to the community.
“Being in health care, what better way to fulfil our social obligations than better the health of people in need? And we opted for heart surgeries as they tend to deliver the highest outcomes, and give the recipients, many of them children, a new lease on life,” Dr Vayalil said.
The 100 free surgeries were first launched in 2013 in memory of the UAE’s founding father and late president, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. So far, 165 have already been offered to patients ranging in age from two days to 75 years. About 85 per cent of them have been coronary artery bypass procedures undertaken to improve blood flow to the heart.
“We have had a 100 per cent success rate so far, with no reported fatalities. Perhaps the best part is that we have been able to reach out to many children. For example, we recently operated on 30 children from Iraq and five from Ethiopia, who are now back home with their families,” Dr Vayalil added.
