Abu Dhabi: Burjeel Hospital is offering 200 free cardiac surgeries in the UAE in line with the Year of Giving, one of several initiatives throughout the year.

As well as free surgeries, the hospital will also operate a year-long mobile clinic for free breast cancer screenings, which will travel throughout the UAE.

The third initiative is aimed at low-income couples with fertility issues. The hospital will provide medical treatment such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) at discounted rates.

“We believe that it is the duty of every corporate citizen to participate and take part in the Year of Giving and we have decided to focus on three key areas that our hospital has expertise in,” said Clancey Po, Chief Executive Officer at Burjeel Hospital, said.

“The 200 free cardiac surgeries this year are part of a larger goal, which is to perform 1,000 free cardiac surgeries in the next five years,” Po explained. “Our hospital has always put a keen focus on treating cardiac cases, we have world class cardiac centre facility and we thought why not utilise this centre for the benefit of the population.”

Po said that the free surgeries would be mainly offered to patients who cannot afford them.

“People can contact our call centre at 025085555 and we will arrange a free consultation. During the consultation, we will ask them to fill out an application form and we will assess each candidate based on their economic status. If we find that they do need the surgery, but are unable to afford it, we will provide the surgery free of cost.”

Commenting on the mobile clinic for breast cancer screenings, Po said that the mobile clinic will completely be operated by women doctors, and will also visit small towns and rural areas.

“This campaign is more about creating awareness within the community, early diagnosis is very important, a lot of women are often unaware that they may have breast cancer. We have seen cases where women have been completely medically insured but they did not know they had breast cancer, and when they found out they had to get a mastectomy because they were at a late stage,” he added.

On the infertility initiative, Po said 800 couples would be supported with IVF and other medical treatment to help them have a baby, and like the free cardiac surgeries, discounted treatment will be reserved for low-income families.

“There are a lot of couples who are looking at the possibility of having children and they need medical help, a lot of times they often look at the medical treatment that is available for them but are unable to afford it. This is why we have decided to allow people to come to our hospital for a consultation and depending on their income level we will provide large discounts for these couples,” he said.

“This will be open to anyone in the UAE, they have to contact our call centre and arrange the consultation with our medical experts who will then assess their case and explain to them the medical possibilities. Our aim is to bring joy to these couples by helping them have a baby.”