Save A Child’s Heartis a charitable organization providing aid to children with heart diseases registered under society Registration Act of 2005. Donations to SACH are exempt from income tax under section 80G. The efforts by SACH so far could be best described as a beginning and what remains to be done is much more than that. SACH has a long list of children waiting for surgery and this list is growing at a steady pace. Although it may be aspiring for the impossible to save all these children, SACH is committed to save as many as possible.
Save A Child’s Heartidentifies children with heart diseases mainly through FREE SCREENING camps. Our team of doctors and paramedical staff organizes small camps in villages. They carry along with them basic screening devices including a portable echocardiogram and conduct free screening camps for children below 12 years of age. Apart from free screening camps in the society, any patient who walks into the hospital for screening is offered free / subsidized services based on the paying capacity.
In Andhra Pradesh post the rally conducted by a group the government has laid down a protocol according to this protocol parents belonging to the lower socio economic groups approach government hospitals - pediatric cardiac cells that have been specially established to get their children evaluated. The parents furnish their financial status from an appropriate Government authority ie the ration card etc to the cell and get their children evaluated. Post evaluation the children are referred by the hospital for further treatment to SACH.
The following is a summary of our functioning and budgetary requirements:
Once we receive the child from the government agency our team of specialists evaluate the child thoroughly and the necessary diagnostics are carried out. Most of the times the children are brought either in an emergency or with heart disease combined with other diseases like measles etc. The child is taken up for surgery depending on the evaluation.
The services includes open heart and closed heart surgeries, interventional procedures and diagnostics. (Click here to know more about pediatric cardiac diseases)
Each individual child presents different clinical conditions. The surgery cost includes the consumables (items used in surgery) and pharmaceuticals used for each child. In highly complex cases valves and conduits are used that are very expensive. On an average open heart surgery costs Rs.1.5 lacs to Rs.1.8lacs (US $4000 approximately) and a closed heart or interventional surgery costs Rs.80,000/- to 1 lac (US $2500 approximately). In cases where conduit or valves are used the surgery cost goes up.
In Andhra Pradesh the funds required to cover the cost of the surgery will be borne by a combination of Save a Child's Heart, the government and Apollo Hospitals.
In states other than A.P the funds required to cover the cost of surgery will be borne by SACH and Apollo Hospitals.
The donor component per surgery is Rs.30,000/-. (In Andhra Pradesh). Out side A.P as the Govt contribution is not available it differs for different surgeries.
The complete package includes diagnostics/ surgery/ICU stay/preoperative and postoperative care/ consumables and drugs/ ward accommodation for the child and one attendant.
The stay varies according to the surgery and the condition of the child. On an average for any open-heart surgery the preoperative period/ surgery and postoperative period is 10 days and for any other interventional procedures it is 6 days.
Save a Child's Heart service partner Apollo Children’s Heart Hospital provides the in-house care of children.
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