One of the most prestigious American centres for the treatment of cardiovascular disease is being named after President His Highness Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan after he made a multi-million dollar donation.
The cardiovascular treatment centre at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota will be named in Shaikh Zayed's honour next year after he made donations totalling $25 million (Dh91 million).
Shaikh Zayed pledged to make the huge contribution in 1996 after he paid that year for the medical and surgical care of four Mayo Clinic patients from the US.
The donation comes as the Mayo Clinic expands the services it offers to patients in the United Arab Emirates.
In an interview with Gulf News, staff from the clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, praised the generosity shown by Shaikh Zayed.
"We're extremely pleased that Shaikh Zayed had demonstrated his generosity to the patients of Mayo Clinic," said Chris Gade, a spokesman for the clinic.
"We are grateful for his strong message of support and we accept the gift with the highest level of gratitude to His Highness."
Gade said Shaikh Zayed had modestly not wanted the generous donation to be made public, but it was reported this week by a local newspaper in the US.
"Now we're at the stage of the process where he's made the final payment," Gade added. Mayo Clinic in Rochester contains one of the largest cardiovascular care centres in the United States, with nine cardiovascular surgeons on its staff.
The specialist centre will be renamed the Mayo Clinic Zayed Cardiovascular Centre. It has been ranked as one of the top two places in the United States for cardiovascular treatment in the "America's Best Hospitals" report.
More than 2,500 heart operations are performed each year at the centre, which occupies space on four floors, using state-of-the-art technology and techniques, including minimally invasive surgical practices.
Among the centre's specialities are heart transplants, heart valve surgery, the repair of major valves in arteries and the treatment of congenital heart disease.
"We gratefully accept this gift from Shaikh Zayed," said Dr Hugh Smith, chairman of the Mayo Clinic Rochester board of governors.
The money from Shaikh Zayed will be spent on the latest equipment for treating cardiovascular conditions and also for creating an improved area for outpatient consultations.
A charitable organisation
- Mayo Clinic is a charitable, not-for-profit organisation, which also has treatment centres in two other locations in the US Jacksonville in Florida and Scottsdale, Arizona.
- The organisation employs more than 2,000 doctors across its three main locations and says it offers treatment to the rich and poor of any race or religion.
- The clinic has an office in Emirates Towers, Dubai, and last year had a cardiovascular specialist on hand for one week each month to see patients locally.
