PALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND

Medial Missions: Pediatric Cardiac Surgery
Since 1998, the PCRF has been sponsoring, organizing and coordinating on the ground, in coordination with the Ministry of Health in Palestine and Iraq, volunteer missions to go and provide life-saving open heart surgery for sick and dying Arab children with heart disease. Since the Al-Aqsa Intifada erupted in September of 2000, the PCRF has had to increase the number of congenital heart cases being sent outside for surgery because the number of missions to the region has declined. However, whenever possible we send teams there to work on the ground.

View Previous Cardiac Missions

Italian Team Completes Third Mission of 2009
On June 6, the third mission from Messa, Italy, led by surgeon Dr. Vincenzo Luisi started another week of cardiac surgery at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. The team included surgeon Dr. Anna Maizza, intensivist/anesthsiologist Dr. Paolo Del Sarto and OR nurse Gabriele Giorgi. This team of volunteers provided continued training for the local staff at Makassed, as well as treatment for children from the West Bank and Gaza Strip born with heart disease and in need of care that is not available to them locally. The PCRF is the only NGO building the first and only pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine. In 2007 and 2008, over 200 babies each year had life-saving surgery through this program, which is progressing closer to our goal of self-sufficiency and independence.

Kiwi surgeon finishes a month of saving lives in Palestine
On May 28th, Dr. Alan Kerr, a senior cardiac surgeon from Greenlane Hospital (ret.) in Auckland, New Zealand finished a month-long mission of providing pediatric cardiac surgery on dozens of sick babies at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. Dr. Kerr has lead over a dozen surgery missions to Palestine since his first trip to there in 2000, providing life-saving surgery for hundreds of sick babies from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. His trip is part of an ongoing program the PCRF is sponsoring in building the first and only pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine. Over the past two years, over 400 babies from all over Palestine have had life-saving surgery at Makassed Hospital through the hard work of volunteer teams from all over the world, along with the expertise and dedication of the local staff in Makassed Hospital. Several missions are planned for 2009.

Italian heart surgery team saves
the lives of children in Palestine
On April 18, a 4-member team of doctors and nurses from the Tuscany region of Italy arrived in Palestine for a week of pediatric cardiac surgery on babies born with congenital heart disease. The team was led by surgeon Dr. Stefano Luisi, who has led several missions to Palestine with the PCRF over the past few years, as well as treated children from Palestine and Iraq at his hospital in Messa for free.

Also on his team were surgeon Anna Filomena Maizza, anesthesiologist Dorela Haxhiademi and perfusionist Alba Buselli. Dr. Luisi led a mission in January, and several other teams have operated in Makassed in 2009, including teams from France, the USA and the UK. New Zealander Dr. Alan Kerr will arrive at the end of the month for six weeks of surgery and training for the local staff in Makassed. The PCRF has built the first and only pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine, including an 8- bed ICU. Over 400 babies have had life-saving surgery over the past two years in Makassed through a mix of visiting and local Palestinian doctors and nurses working side-by-side.

British Surgeon Returns for 2nd Life-Saving Mission to Palestine in 2009
For the second time in 2009. Dr. B. Sethia, a pediatric cardiac surgeon from the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, flew to Jerusalem for a weekend of life-saving open-heart surgery on sick babies from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Working at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives, Dr. Sethia and his ICU nurse Natasha Pool provided care for eight sick children who were born with heart disease. Dr. Sethia has been on over a dozen missions to Palestine through the PCRF over the past ten years and is the President of the International Palestinian Cardiac Relief Organization (IPCRO), the consulting arm of the PCRF for building the first and only congenital heart program in Palestine. Over the past two years, over 400 sick babies have had life-saving surgery in Makassed through this program. Already in 2009, teams from Italy, France, the USA and the UK have operated in Makassed, and several more missions are planned in the coming months to continue to build the program, with the long-term objective of making the local program completely independent and self-sufficient.

American heart team saves the lives babies in Palestine
On March 6th, a 4-member team of doctors and nurses from the USA finished a week of pediatric cardiac surgery at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. Led by Dr. Adil Husain, a pediatric cardiac surgeon from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Dr. Jay Fricker, a pediatric cardiologist from the University of Florida, the team provided life-saving surgery for 13 children born with heart disease from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Also included in the mission were Loma Linda perfusionist Kholoud Nassar and ICU nurse Rebecca Husain, from the University of Texas. All four have volunteered with the PCRF over the past several years. This mission is the fourth cardiac surgery mission to go to Jerusalem in 2009 through the PCRF to provide heart surgery on sick babies, as teams from England, Italy and France have already worked in Makassed, treating children and supporting the local Palestinian staff, who are working at a high level of skill and professionalism. The goal of this project is to ensure that all Palestinian children with heart disease get care within their own health care system, and to build local capacity so a fully independent program will be built in Palestine. Several more missions are scheduled for the coming months to continue this humanitarian effort.

British team saves the lives of Palestinian children
in East Jerusalem
On January 29, Dr. B. Sethia, a pediatric surgeon from the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, and ICU nurse Jody Luckie went to Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem to provide open-heart surgery on Palestinian children with congenital heart disease. In only a weekend of volunteer work, Dr. Sethia managed to operate on eight children who were born with heart defects. This is part of an ongoing humanitarian project by the PCRF to build the first and only pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine. Earlier in January, an Italian team provided heart surgery in Makassed through the PCRF, and in 2008 and 2007, nearly 200 babies each year from Gaza and the West Bank had life-saving surgery through this program, with a very high level of success. Dr. Sethia is also the president of the International Palestinian Cardiac Relief Organization (IPCRO), which is the consulting arm of the PCRF in building this program and has led many humanitarian missions to Palestine through the PCRF over the past 10 years.

Pediatric heart team complete mission in Palestine
On January 15, a 3-member team from Massa, Italy went to Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem to provide life-saving open-heart surgery on sick babies born with congenital heart disease. Led by Dr. Steafno Luisi, who has operated on dozens of Palestinian children in Palestine through the PCRF over the past two years, as well as treating several Arab children sent to him for free through the PCRF in Italy, the team performed many difficult operations on children who were born with serious heart defects. The is part of the ongoing PCRF program to build the first and only pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine. In 2007 and 2008, nearly 400 children had life-saving heart surgery in Makassed through the hard work of the local Palestinian team and the visiting PCRF teams from all over the world.

Italian heart surgery team saves the lives of
sick babies from Gaza, West Bank
On November 8, 2008, a 3-member team of heart specialists from Messa, Italy arrived in Palestine to start a week of open-heart surgery on sick babies from the West Bank and Gaza Strip born with heart disease. Led by surgeon Stefano Luisi, the team also included intensivist Paolo Del Sarto and perfusionist Alessandra Baroni, who have both volunteered through the PCRF in Palestine before to save the lives of sick babies. Several heart missions have worked already in Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives in 2008 to save the lives of hundreds of babies from all over Palestine. This is the only pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine, and the goal is to build an independent congenital heart program that is fully run by local Palestinian doctors and nurses. Dr. Stefano, in addition to operating on several sick babies, also is training local personnel to achieve this goal.

British Heart Team saves lives in East Jerusalem
On October 4, 2008, a six-member team of doctors and nurses from the United Kingdom arrived in East Jerusalem to start a week of pediatric cardiac surgery at Makassed Hosptial on the Mount of Olives. Led by Dr. B. Sethia from the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, the team included also two ICU nurses, a pefusionist and an intensive care doctor, all who volunteered their time away from their work and families to help save the lives of sick children from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Dr. Sethia has led several missions to Makassed through the PCRF over the past 10 years, saving the lives of over 100 children born with heart disease. This program is part of the PCRF on-going effort to build the first and only independent pediatric cardiac surgery unit serving babies from the occupied Palestinian territories with heart disease. Six children were brought from Gaza, while six other Gazan babies were denied permits to cross Erez to East Jerusalem. Two other foreign missions are planned for heart surgery in Makassed before the end of the year.

Kiwi surgeon finishes 6 weeks of life-saving surgery in East Jerusalem
During the last week of August, 2008, Dr. Alan Kerr, a pediatric cardiac surgeon (ret.) from Greenlane Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand finished six weeks of providing open-heart surgery on sick babies from the West Bank and Gaza Strip at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. Dr. Kerr has dedicated months and months of his time as a volunteer to help build the first and only pediatric cardiac surgery program through the PCRF serving the children of Palestine. Hundreds of children from all over the occupied territories have had life-saving surgery through his hard work and kind help. Dr. Kerr is also training the local staff during his work in Palestine and is a member of the PCRF-sponsored International Palestinian Cardiac Relief Organization (IPCRO), who is overseeing the building of the program in Makassed Hospital.

Italian pediatric cardiac surgery team saves lives in Jerusalem
For the third time in June, 2008, the PCRF has sent a European cardiac team to Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem to provide life saving surgery on sick babies born with heart disease. The first mission was led by Dr. B. Sethia from Brompton in London. He was followed by Dr. Katrien Francois from the University of Ghent in Belgium. In early July, Dr. Stefano Luisi returned for the third time to Makassed Hospital to provide his skills and services for sick babies from Gaza and the West Bank. Dr. Luisi and his team from Pasquinucci Hospital in Massa, Italy have treated several kids through other missions to Palestine, as well as treating sick Palestinian and Iraqi kids sent to him through the PCRF for free surgery in his hospital. In addition to Dr. Luisi, the surgeon, his team included Dr. Cornel Marusceac anaesthetist, Alfredo Giorgi perfusionist and Anna Spinatelli ICU nurse.

Belgian heart team completes mission to Jerusalem
On June 20, a five-member team of doctors and nurses from the University of Gent in Belgium completed a week of open-heart surgery at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. The Belgians have worked in Palestine doing open heart surgery on sick babies since 1999 through the PCRF, saving the lives of hundreds of Palestinian children. This team was led by Dr. Katrien Francois, a surgeon, and included perfusionist Dirk de Smet, ICU nurses Katrien Vanhooren, Gigi Coppieters, and intensivist Dr. Kristof Vandekerchove. Despite efforts by the MOH and the PCRF, several sick babies from Gaza were denied permission to travel to Makassed for open-heart surgery by the IDF at Erez border with Gaza.

British Heart Team Saves the Lives of Sick Babies in Palestine
On June 6, 2008, a six-member team of doctors and nurses from the United Kingdom traveled to East Jerusalem to perform a week of pediatric cardiac surgery on sick children with congenital heart disease at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives. Led by Dr. B. Sethia from the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, the team included perfusionist Stanley Brown, ICU nurses Jody Luckie, and Natasha Pool, anesthesiologist Dr. Alastair Cranston from Birmingham and USA ICU nurse Asma Taha from Loma Linda in California. The team worked in Palestine last December and Dr. Sethia is the president of the International Palestinian Cardiac Relief Organization (IPCRO), which is part of the PCRF effort to build a congenital heart program in Palestine for sick babies born with heart disease. Several hundred Palestinian babies are born each year with heart disease and this is the only program in Palestine working to save their lives.

New Zealand Surgeon returns to Palestine to save lives
On March 26, 2008, Dr. Alan Kerr, a senior cardiac surgeon (ret.) from Greenlane Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, and perfusionist Jean-Luc Charlier traveled to Palestine for a month of treating Palestinian children with congenital heart disease at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. Dr. Kerr has led many previous mission to Ramallah, Gaza and Makassed Hospital through the PCRF since 2000 and has saved the lives of hundreds of Palestinian children with heart disease. Already in 2008, four pediatric cardiac surgery missions have been held through the PCRF at Makassed Hospital with teams from France, the UK, Italy and the USA. Dr. Kerr is continuing to train local doctors and nurses at Makassed as part of our effort to make this project independent and self-sustaining.

Italian heart team saves Palestinian lives in Jerusalem
On February 29, 2008, a 4-member team of doctors and nurses from Messa, Italy went to East Jerusalem for a week of life-saving open-heart surgery on sick Palestinian babies from the West Bank and Gaza Strip at Makassed Hospital. Led by surgeon Dr. Stefano Luisi and intensivist Dr. Paolo del Sarto, who both were in Makassed last November on a PCRF mission, the team also included perfusionist Alessandra Baroni and OR nurse Stefania D'Amico. They performed 11 operations during their week in Jerusalem, training the local staff and furthering the effort to build the first and only long-term pediatric cardiac surgery program for Palestinian children.

German-Palestinian cardiac surgeon finishes two weeks of surgery in Ramallah
On February 14, 2008, Dr. Marwan El Sadek, a German-Palestinian Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at Sana Heart Centre in Cottbus, Germany, completed 2 weeks of cardiac by-pass surgery at Ramallah Government Hospital in the West Bank. There are hundreds of people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip waiting for open-heart surgery and Dr. El Sadek provided nearly a dozen patients expert care under difficult circumstances in Ramallah. The PCRF has built a pediatric cardiac surgery program in Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem and is currently cooperating with the PA Ministry of Health to provide expert care for poor patients in Ramallah.

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery team saves lives in Palestine
On February 1, 2008, a 6-member team of doctors and nurses from different institutions in the USA traveled to East Jerusalem for a week of pediatric cardaic surgery at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives. Led by surgeon Dr. Adil Husain, who works at University of Florida, and ICU doctor Shamel Abd Allah from Loma Linda in California. The team also included perfusionist Kholoud Nassar and ICU nurse Rebecca Husain, as well as nurse Sana Massad. Dr. Husain, Dr. Abd Allah and Kholoud Nassar all were on a mission to Makassed through the PCRF last January as well. This was the third pediatric cardiac surgery mission to Palestine in 2008, the other two being Dr. Dominique Metras from France and Dr. B. Sethia from the UK in January.

British Surgeon makes emergency trip to Jerusalem to save 3 babies
On January 15, 2008, Dr. B. Sethia, an English pediatric cardiac surgeon from Royal Brompton Hospital in London, flew overnight to Palestine to provide life-saving open-heart surgery on 3 babies in Makassed Hospital. These were children who were in the hospital waiting for surgery between the French mission of Dr. Dominique Metras earlier in the month and the American mission that came in early February. These children couldn't wait any longer, so Dr. Sethia made an emergency trip through the PCRF sponsorship to operate on three babies with complex heart disease. Dr. Sethia led a week-long mission to Palestine in December through the PCRF, where nearly two dozen babies had life-saving surgery. He is also the president of the Palestinian Cardiac Relief Organization (IPCRO), which is the active consulting arm of the PCRF in building a pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine. 191 Palestinian children had open-heart surgery in Makassed through the PCRF program in 2007

British Heart Team Treats Children in Palestine
On December 7, 2007, a 6-member team of doctors and nurses from the United Kingdom arrived in Palestine for a week of open-heart surgery on sick babies with congenital heart disease at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives. Led by Dr. B. Sethia from Brompton Hospital in London, the team included anesthetist Dr. Alistair Cranston, intensivist Dr. Marie Bosman, perfusionist Stanley Brown and ICU nurses Margo Pitman and Jodi Luckie. Dr. Sethia is also the current president of the International Palestinian Cardiac Relief Organization (IPCRO) and has led several missions to Palestine over the past 9 years. Despite the refusal by the IDF to permit several sick babies to travel to Makassed for surgery, the team operated on and saved the lives of nearly a dozen children. Nearly 200 babies have had open-heart surgery through PCRF missions to Makassed in 2007.

Loma Linda Pediatric Cardiology
Team Treats kids in Ramallah, Makassed
On November 16, 2007, Dr. Aijaz Hashemi, a pediatric cardiologist , and nurse Asma Taha from Loma Linda University Medical Center arrived in Palestine for a week of diagnosing and treating children with congenital heart disease in the Ramallah and Makassed Catheterization labs. This is their second mission to Palestine in 2007. Back in January, they also did a mission where they treated and helped dozens of kids. They also helped to raised the funds in the summer to purchase PCRF echo machine for our Ramallah office, which has been used to screen hundreds of children for free in the West Bank.

Italian Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Mission Saves Lives in Jerusalem
On November 19th, 2007, a 5-member team of doctors and nurses from Ospedale "G. Pasquinucci" in Massa, Italy arrived in Jerusalem to begin a 10-day mission in treating Palestinian children with congenital heart disease. Led by surgeon Dr. Stefano Luisi, the team will treat children who are born with heart disease, which is part of the new heart surgery program for children in Makassed, sponsored by the PCRF. Over 150 children from Palestine have had life-saving surgery in Makassed in 2007. Dr. Luisi also recently treated a 10-year-old boy from Iraqi in Italy, sent by the PCRF for heart surgery.

Belgian team Saves the Lives of Babies in Jerusalem
On November 4, 2007, a Belgian team from the University of Ghent arrived in Palestine for a week of pediatric cardiac surgery in Makassed Hospital. Led by surgeon Dr. Thierry Bove and perfusionist Dirk de Smet, the team did 13 life-saving operations on mainly sick babies brought out of Gaza by the PCRF for surgery. This is part of an ongoing program by the PCRF to build a pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine. Already in 2007, 166 children have had life-saving surgery through the PCRF program in Makassed, which is the first and only pediatric program working in Palestine. last year the PCRF built a new ICU in Makassed. In December, the PCRF will expand this ICU to a 6-bed unit to better accommodate the children having surgery through the PCRF.

Donated Echo Machine Arrives in Ramallah
On July 23, 2007, the PCRF received in our office in Ramallah a donated HP 5500 echocardiography machine, which was purchased by the Islamic community of Riverside, CA. This machine will be used to screen poor children with congenital heart disease in the West Bank for possible surgery at Makassed Hospital, where the PCRF has been sponsoring and running heart missions for several years. ANERA helped greatly in clearing this machine through Israeli customs, and weekly clinics will be held in the PCRF office in Ramallah by Dr. Mahmoud Nashashibi to see children in need.

French Heart Team Save Lives in East Jerusalem
On June 30, 2007, a 4-member team of doctors and nurses from France arrived in Palestine for a week of open-heart surgery at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives. This is part of the PCRF program to provide life-saving open-heart surgery for sick babies from the West Bank and Gaza Strip with heart disease. This is the fifth mission to Palestine this year in in pediatric cardiac surgery, including a 6-month program by Dr. Alan Kerr. The French team consisted of Professor Dominique Metras, surgeon, Dr Adrienne Mille, pediatric anesthetist, Dr Françoise Scheers, perfusionist and Mr Patrick Siclis, an OR nurse. The mission was sponsored by the French Consulate in East Jerusalem and run by the PCRF and our heart program.

New Zealand Surgeon Starts 6 month
Mission to Palestine
On March 31, 2007, Dr. Alan Kerr, a pediatric cardiac surgeon from Greenlane Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand (retired) began a six-month mission to Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem to provide surgery and train the local team. This was Dr. Kerr's 12th mission to Palestine in pediatric cardiac surgery since 2000. He has saved the lives of hundreds of Palestinian children born with heart disease, and is playing a major role in building the pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine with the PCRF. He was joined by Kiwi ICU nurse Warren Narin, who trained nurses in the new PCRF ICU in Makassed.

Belgian Mission saves the lives of Palestinian Babies
On March 16th, 2007, a Belgian pediatric cardiac surgery mission traveled to Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem for a week of treating children from the West Bank and Gaza Strip with congenital heart disease. This was the third mission to Palestine in 2007 for pediatric cardiac surgery and the team was led by surgeon Dr. Katrien Francois from the University of Ghent in Belgium. Also participating in this mission was perfusionist Dirk de Smet. Both have been on several missions to Palestine through the PCRF over the past several years, as well as treating children at their hospital in Belgium. A dozen children from the West Bank and Gaza had surgery through this mission, which is part of the PCRF program to build a long-term open-heart surgery unit at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem.

Italian Heart Surgeon returns to Jerusalem
On February 12, 2007, Dr. Giancarlo Crupi, a pediatric cardiac surgeon from Bergamo in Italy went to East Jerusalem for a week of open-heart surgery on Palestinian children with congenital heart disease at Makassed Hospital. Dr. Crupi had two other members with him from Bergamo, and performed several heart operations on children from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Dr. Crupi has led a dozen missions to Palestine through the PCRF over the past several years, and has also treated many of our kids at his hospital for free in Italy. This was part of the PCRF's effort to build a free-standing pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine.

American Pediatric Cardiologist Treats Children in West Bank
On January 10, 2007, Dr. Aijaz Hashemi, a pediatric cardiologist from Loma Linda University in California, arrived in the West Bank for a week of screening children with congenital heart disease, as well as to provide invasive care in the Ramallah Catheterization lab. Many of the children screened by Dr. Hashemi were later transferred for open-heart surgery by the visiting mission of Dr. Adil Husain, who was operating at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem.

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Mission in East Jerusalem
On January 9, 2007, a three-member team of American doctors went Palestine to perform 10-days of open-heart surgery on sick babies with congenital heart disease from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Led by surgeon Dr. Adil Husain from the University of Florida and Dr. Shamel Abd-Allah, an intesivist from Loma Linda University in California, and including Loma Linda perfusionist Kholoud Nassar, the team did many complicated and difficult operations.

Kiwi surgeons returns for a month of surgery in Jerusalem
At the end of November, 2006, Dr. Alan Kerr, a pediatric cardiac surgeon from Greenlane Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, returned for the 13th time to Palestine to do open-heart surgery for one-month at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. Dr. Kerr is a volunteer who has spent much of the past five years working in Palestine to help build a pediatric cardiac surgery program for the Palestinians. His efforts have saved many lives over the past several years, and helped to train local medical personnel.

Italian surgeon returns to Jerusalem to treat children
On November 15, 2006, Dr. Giancarto Crupi, a pediatric cardiac surgeon from Bergamo, Italy returned to Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem to work for a week in pediatric cardiac surgery at the new program to treat Palestinian children with heart disease. Dr. Crupi has led several heart missions to Palestine through the PCRF since 1999 and saved the lives of hundreds of sick children. He also has treated many children at his hospital in Bergamo from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq through the PCRF. He is one of the founding members of the International Palestinian Cardiac Relief Organization (IPCRO) and has helped to create the first and only pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine through the PCRF.

British Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon in Jerusalem
In September, 2006 Dr. B. Sethia, a pediatric cardiac surgeon from Brompton Hospital in London went to Palestine for his fifth mission since 1999 to treat children with congenital heart disease. Dr. Sethia was the second surgeon to ever go to Makassed for heart surgery through the PCRF, which was back in March of 1999. On this mission, he did over a dozen open-heart operations on sick babies from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Also on this mission was anesthesiologist Dr. Alistair Cranston from Birmingham in the UK, perfusionist Stanley Brown from Brompton, and ICU nurse Warren Nairn from Christchurch, New Zealand.

Kiwi Team Treats Children with Heart Disease
On July 25, 2006 a three-member team from New Zealand arrived in Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives, East Jerusalem for a month of open-heart surgery on Palestinian babies suffering from congenital heart disease. Led by Dr. Alan Kerr, who has led nearly a dozen missions to Palestine through the PCRF since 2001, the team also consists of Dr. David Buckley, anesthesiologist, and Warren Nairn, an ICU nurse. Both have volunteered through the PCRF in the past. This team is part of the PCRF effort to build a pediatric cardiac surgery program and unit in Palestine, which will be the first and only program set up to deal with the hundreds of Palestinian babies born each year with congenital heart disease. Currently, there is no such unit in Palestine. The PCRF is currently building a new pediatric cardiac intensive care unit in Makassed and already several costly pieces of equipment have been provided through other donors.

Italian Surgeon Starts New Year Saving Lives in Palestine
On January 2, 2006, Dr. Giancarlo Crupi returned to Palestine on his 10th cardiac missions since 1998 to provide free open-heart surgery on sick Palestinian children from the West Bank and Gaza Strip suffering from congenital heart disease. Working at Makassed Hospital, this was part of an ongoing effort to build the first and only pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine. Over 60 cardiac surgery and cardiology missions have gone to Palestine through the PCRF since 1998, with 2006 looking like another promising year of great achievements in this field.

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Team Performs Surgery in Jerusalem
On Sept. 25, 2005, a 5-member team of doctors and nurses from Brompton Hospital in London traveled to East Jerusalem for a week of pediatric cardiac surgery at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives. The team was led by Dr. B. Sethia, who has led several other past surgery missions to Palestine through the PCRF. Also included on the team were three ICU nurses and a perfusionist.

Italian Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Mission Saves Lives in Jerusalem
On June 18th, 2005, a 5-member team of doctors and nurses from Italy (with one American nurse) traveled to Palestine to perform a week of pediatric cardiac surgery at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives. The team was led by Prof. Alessandro Frigiola, chief of cardiac surgery at the Center of Cardiovascular Disease in Milan, and Dr. Giancarlo Crupi, a pediatric surgeon from Bergamo. Dr. Frigola is also the head of the nonprofit group Cardiopathic Children of the World and is helping the PCRF/IPCRO to build a pediatric cardiac surgery program. Dr. Crupi has led several missions to Ramallah, Gaza and Jerusalem over the years to treat dozens of sick babies with heart disease, and has treated many children from all over the Middle East through the PCRF in Bergamo for free. Also included on this team were ICU nurse John Kimbrough from North Carolina, and Dr. Carmen Bellucci, intensivist: and Mario Mazza, ICU nurse, both from Milan.

Belgian Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Team Treats Children in East Jeursalem
On Saturday, June 11, 2005, a 10-member team of Belgians and American doctors and nurses treated sick Palestinian children with congenital heart disease at Makassed Islamic Charitable Hospital on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. Led by Dr. Katrien Francois, a pediatric cardiac surgeon from the University of Ghent in Belgium, the team included a complete OR, cardiology and ICU staff, which included three American nurses. The PCRF has brought the Belgian team from Ghent to Palestine nearly a dozen times since 1999, under the supervision of Professor Guido Van Nooten. Dr. Francois has led several of these surgery teams, and Dr. Thierry Bove led the others. The team started surgery on June 12th, providing three children surgery each day, in cooperation and close work with the local Makassed staff. The Belgians also sent a two-member team of pediatric cardiologists to Ramallah Hospital every day to treat children in the catheterization lab. (See story below)

Kiwi Surgeon, Nurse, Operate in Jerusalem
On March 31, 2005, Dr. Alan Kerr, a pediatric cardiac surgeon from Greenlane Hospital in New Zealand, and ICU nurse Warren Nairn from Christchurch, New Zealand traveled to East Jerusalem, along with Australian-American OR nurse Gerry Pearce, for two weeks of intensive pediatric cardiac surgery on sick children at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. This was part of the ongoing effort by the PCRF to build a pediatric cardiac surgery program in Makassed, as there currently is no treatment available for sick babies born with heart disease in Palestine. Dr. Kerr has worked many times throughout Palestine on sick babies with heart disease and has saved hundreds of lives there through his hard work and dedication. Both Gerry and Warren had also been to Palestine in the past to treat children with heart disease. See surgery list

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Team Saves Many in Palestine
On January 29th, 2005, an 8-member pediatric cardiac surgery team from the USA went to Palestine through the PCRF to perform a two-week mission to treat children with congenital heart disease at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. Led by Dr. Daniel Cohen, the team included four ICU nurses, an OR nurse and a perfusionist. The mission was sponsored by the PCRF and was the second time that Dr. Cohen had been to Makassed through the PCRF. He treated children from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This was part of an ongoing PCRF effort to build a pediatric cardiac surgery program in Palestine. See cases treated

Kiwi Surgeon Returns to Jerusalem
On November 25, 2004, Dr. Alan Kerr, a senior New Zealand cardiac surgeon, went for the third time in 2004 to Jerusalem to continue his work at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives. Dr. Kerr volunteered through the PCRF to provide surgery for Palestinian children with congenital heart disease, as well as training for local doctors and nurses in heart surgery. In 2004, Dr. Kerr saved the lives of over 80 children in Palestine and will work all through December in Palestine.

Anglo-American Cardiac Team Saves Lives in Jerusalem
On September 15, 2004, a 7-member team of doctors and nurses from the UK, the US and Australia worked for a week in Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives, doing open heart surgery on sick Palestinian children with congenital heart disease. Led by Dr. B. Sethia from Brompton Hospital in London, the team also included anesthesiologist Dr. Marsha Peterson from Houston, ICU nurses Heidi Hess from Florida, Linda Davies from London, Debi Lammert from Tulsa and Margot Pittman from Australia. The perfusionist was Stanley Brown from London. The team saved the lives of several sick babies and had good cooperate and training for a very competent local team.

Italian Team Screens Patients a Day
After 8 People Killed in Nablus
Professor Carlo Vosa and his team from Naples, Italy went to Nablus on June 27th, 2004, to screen 30 sick babies with congenital heart disease a day after the IDF killed 8 Palestinians in the Old City of Nablus. The children were from the northern part of the West Bank and were all born with heart disease which cannot be treated locally. Many of the children will be transferred to Naples for free surgery through the PCRF. Prof. Vosa and his team have already treated nearly 30 Palestinian children over the past year through the PCRF in Naples, as well as a dozen in a mission to Makassed in February. >>>See cases treated

Belgian Cardiac Team Saves Lives in Jerusalem
On June 25th, 2004, an 8-member team of doctors and nurses from Belgium went to Palestine for a week of extensive open-heart surgery and invasive catheterization procedures on sick babies with congenital heart disease. This was the second mission to Makassed Hospital by the Belgian team, which was led by Dr. Katrien Francois, surgeon, and Professor Daniel de Wolf, pediatric cardiologist. The team is mainly from the University of Ghent, but also includes members from Brussels and a nurse from Canada. In addition to treating sick children with heart disease in Makassed, Prof. de Wolf is also doing invasive catheterization procedures on sick babies at Ramallah Hospital in the West Bank. Dr. de Wolf is seen here checking on 2-year-old Islam, a girl who had surgery on June 28th. He is using an Cyruss Acuson echo machine, which was donated to the PCRF by Siemens corporation. . >>>See cases treated |>>>see catheterization list

American Cardiac Surgeon in Gaza for the sixth time
On April 23rd, 2004, Dr. Imad Tabry, an adult cardiac surgeon from the Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida arrived in Gaza City for a week of open-heart surgery on patients with heart disease. Dr. Tabry is the only cardiac surgeon from outside who has been going to Gaza to do open-heart surgery on adult patients since the Intifada began. This is his sixth mission to Shifa since 2000, and he has saved the lives of over one hundred patients who otherwise would not get the care that they need. Dr. Tabry is on the governing board of the International Palestinian Cardiac Relief Organization, which is part of the PCRF. See the list of cases treated.

New Zealand Team Arrives in Gaza for Two Weeks of Open-heart Surgery
On March 18, 2004, a 9-member team of pediatric cardiac surgeons and nurses from Auckland, New Zealand traveled to Gaza City for a week of open-heart surgery on sick babies with congenital heart disease. After a week of successful surgery in Gaza, the team then traveled to Makassed Hospital for another week of surgery on March 27th. The team is led by Dr. Alan Kerr, who has been working for the past month by himself at Makassed Hospital. He is doing a 6-month program of treatment and training in Palestine, and has already done over a half-dozen children by himself. Most of the members of the team include people who have been in Palestine through the PCRF in the past, working both in Gaza and Ramallah in 2001 and 2002. See list of cases treated in Gaza. |Read News Story

New Zealand Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon Returns to Palestine
On February 10, 2004, Dr. Alan Kerr, a pediatric cardiac surgeon from Aukland, New Zealand, arrived in Palestine to begin working at Mukassed Hospital in Jerusalem. Dr. Kerr first came to work in Palestine with the PCRF back in October, 2001 as a part of the Cardiostart team. Since then, Dr. Kerr has returned to worked on several missions since then, including a 2-month surgery mission. Dr. Kerr will be working in Jerusalem over the next six months to perform life-saving cardiac surgery and to provide expert training to the local staff. This is part of the PCRF's and the Ministry of Health's goal to in increase the quality of pediatric cardiac care available in Palestine. See list of cases treated.

Another Italian Cardiac Surgery Team Healed Hearts in Jerusalem
On February 21, 2004, a 12 member Italian pediatric cardiac surgery team from Naples, Italy traveled to Jerusalem to perform live-saving open-heart surgery on sick Palestinian babies with heart disease. Lead by Italian surgeon Carlo Vosa, the team worked for one week in Mukassed Hospital in Jerusalem and treated nearly a dozen sick babies who otherwise would not have received treatment. See list of cases treated.

Italian Cardiac Surgery Mission In Shifa
On February 12, 2004, a 6-member Italian pediatric cardiac surgery team from Bergamo , Italy traveled to Gaza City for a week of intensive pediatric cardiac surgery on sick Palestinian babies with congenital heart disease. Led by Dr. Giancarlo Crupi, the team included OR nurse Barbara Falgari, Anesthesiologist Dr. Giovanni De Dedda, Surgeon Maurizion Merlo, perfusionist Silvana Crisci, and ICU nurse Claudai Sorge. American ICU nurse Dean Dyke also joined the team on his fourth mission to Palestine through the PCRF. See list of cases treated.

Belgian Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Saves Lives in East Jerusalem, doctor deported (again)
On December 12, 2003 a 7-member Belgian team from the University of Ghent traveled to East Jerusalem for a week of life-saving open-heart surgery on children from the West Bank and Gaza Strip with congenital heart disease. At their arrival at Ben Guiron airport, Dr. Kristiaan De Beare was arrested and deported on December 14th back to Belgium by Israeli security for the second time on suspicion of being a "peace activist". Preventing a doctor from treating children is a violation of international law, but the Israeli authorities would not release him, despite efforts by the Belgian embassy, the Peres Peace Center and others to get him released.

11 babies had open heart surgery by the Belgian team. These were babies who would have died without this care. "We are grateful for this team coming and helping our children during this crisis in Palestine," said Dr. Khaled Qurie, medical director of Makassed Hospital. "They are highly professional and the results speak for themselves." The team was led by Professor Guido Van Nooten and surgeon Dr. Theirry Bove. >>>See Surgery list

American Cardiac Surgery Team Saves Lives in Gaza
On December 2nd, 2003 the first ever Ross Procedure at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City was done by Dr. Imad Tabry . The three-member American cardiac surgery team from Florida worked for the 5th time in three years to save the lives of patients in Palestine with heart disease. The Ross Procedure is a very complex operation that requires a special valve that was obtained through a generous donation by Cryolife INC in the US. >>>See the AP story on Dr. Tabry's mission to Gaza. | See surgery list

Palestinian Expatriate Surgeon Helps the Hearts of Gazans
On December 2, 2003 the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the administration of Gaza welcomed cardiac surgeon Imad Tabry, who had a press conference to speak about heart surgery in Palestine and the development achieved in that sensitive field. >>>Read More

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Mission to Jerusalem
On August 11th, 2003 a 9-member team of pediatric cardiac surgeons and nurses arrived at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem to start a two-week mission of providing life-saving surgery for sick children suffering from congenital heart disease. This is part of the PCRF's ongoing "Healing Hearts" Campaign in Palestine, in which we are responding to the need to provide life-saving surgery for sick babies and children there who otherwise would not get the care they need. Led by surgeon Dr. Dan Cohen, the team included anesthesiologist Dr. Laura Diaz, scrub nurse Gerry Pearce, perfusionists Robin Sutton and Stephanie Archer, and ICU nurses Dean Dyke, Debi Lammert and Kayleen Haun. The local team at Makassed who provided the support and assistance in making this mission successful were Dr. Ahmed Darwazeh, chief of cardiac surgery, and Dr. Mahmoud Nashashibi, a pediatric cardiologist. The PCRF is planning three other cardiac missions to the region in the coming months. See Surgery list

Multi-National Surgical Team Saves Lives in Gaza
On June 13th, 2003 a team of doctors and nurses from Italy and the US crossed Erez Checkpoint into Gaza to begin a week of open-heart surgery on sick Palestinian babies with congenital heart disease. Led by Dr. Giancarlo Crupi from Bergamo, Italy, the team consisted of Dr. Giovanni de Didee, an anesthesiologist, and Silvana Crispi, a perfusionist, both from Bergamo, as well as Dean Dyke, an ICU nurse from the University of Wisconsin Children's Hospital in Madison, and Betsy Tirado, an ICU nurse from Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Dr. Alan Kerr, a senior cardiac surgeon (retired) from Greenlane Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, who had been working in Gaza a month prior to the mission, doing open-heart surgery, was also part of the mission. Dr. Kristiaan de Baere was to join the team on Sunday, June 15, to help run the ICU as an intensivist, but was denied entry into Israel and deported.

On Saturday, the team operated on 8-month-old Mahmoud Abu Daher from Maghazi refugee camp, who had a hole in his heart. On Sunday, they operated on 4-uear-old Mohammed Ajjor from Beit Lahya village. These were children who otherwise could not get surgery locally. The team is working in Gaza despite an extremly difficult security situation on the ground. In the past week, dozens of people have been killed and injured by rockets fired into Gaza City by Israeli Apache helicopters. "We are here to demonstrate our desire to save the lives of these children and our determination to help those who are the most in need and neglected," said Dr. Crupi in Gaza on Sunday. See Surgery list

Volunteer Cardiac Surgeon Finishes 2-month Program in Gaza
In January, the PCRF sent Dr. Alan Kerr, the former head of cardiac surgery from Greenlane Hospital in New Zealand, to Gaza City, where he began training the local team at Shifa government hospital in pediatric cardiac surgery. This was Dr. Kerr's third trip to Palestine through the PCRF. In September 2001, he did surgery for a week in Ramallah Hospital, and another week in Shifa Hospital, while in October, 2002, he did a week in Shifa Hospital. Both missions were in cooperation with Cardiostart. Dr. Kerr's mission was the first project of the new International Palestinian Cardiac Relief Organization, which was founded by the PCRF in Gent, Belgium on January 10th. See list of patients treated

Pediatric Cardiac Team Returns to Gaza
On October 12th, 2002, the PCRF sent a 20-member team of volunteer doctors and nurses to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to do a week of life-saving open heart surgery on sick babies with congenital heart disease. The mission came at a time of extreme tension and great suffering in Palestine and was able to save the lives of nearly two dozen sick children. The PCRF worked with an American organization called Cardiostart, who went to Gaza and Ramallah in 2001 through the PCRF as well (see previous mission). Led by surgeons Dr. Aubyn Marath and Dr. Alan Kerr, as well as pediatric cardiologist Dr. Ziad Saba, the team included nurses and doctors from the US, Canada, Belgium, the UK and New Zealand. Despite the heavy siege and war conditions on the ground in Gaza, the team managed to save the lives of sick Palestinian children who otherwise would not get the care they needed. Following a day of screening in Gaza, Dr. Saba then went to work in the catherization lab in Ramallah Hospital for a week to save the lives of sick children through balloon dialitation or coil closure with the local staff. See cases treated.

Belgian Cardiac Team Visits
Palestine Despite War
In March 2002, the PCRF sent Professor Guido van Nooten, chief of cardiac surgery, and Professor Daniel de Wolf, a pediatric Cardiologist from the University of Gent in Belgium for a three day working trip to Palestine. Despite the invasion and re-occupation of many Palestinian towns and cities by the IDF in the weeks preceding their visit to Palestine, the two doctors, who have worked in Palestine with the PCRF in the past, agreed to come.

On Saturday, March 9th, they saw sick babies with congenital heart disease in Ramallah Hospital. However, due to Israeli measures in the northern part of the West Bank, most of the children were not permitted to come for examination. Professor de Wolf did do an emergency "Rushkind" procedure on 20-day old Kareem Barghouty in the Ramallah Catherization lab, saving this babies life and giving the PCRF time to send him to Wolfson Hospital for an emergency "switch" operation.

On March 10th, the Belgian consul general Mr. Leo D'aes drove the two doctors and the President of the PCRF, Steve Sosebee, in his armored diplomatic car into Bethlehem to see children with heart disease at the Greek Orthodox Clinic in Beit Sahour. Bethlehem was under attack then by the IDF then, and the Belgian consulate of East Jerusalem showed great courage in this providing important service to ensure the safety of the visiting team. 18 children were seen by the team in Bethlehem, many of whom will go abroad for surgery in the coming months through the PCRF.

On Monday, March 11th, the team went to Mohammed Durra Hospital in Gaza, where 24 children were seen by Dr. de Wolf. Professor Van Nooten visited the Minister of Health, Dr. Riyad Zanoun, who thanked him for coming to Palestine during these very difficult days and showing great courage and support for the people there. The team left Gaza on Monday afternoon, hours before the IDF attacked the Jebalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing 19 civilians.

Austrian Surgeon Tours Ramallah Hospital
In mid-February, Professor Gregor Wollenek, a cardiac surgeon from Vienna, Austria, arrived in Palestine through the PCRF to visit Ramallah Hospital in preparation for a mission late in 2002. During his trip, he met with the head of the hospital, Dr. Husni Atari, and toured the surgery department, intensive care unit, and catherization lab, meeting with local specialists. He was to go visit Shifa Hospital in Gaza on February 15th, but was prevented by an IDF invasion of the northern part of the Strip, which closed the Erez crossing into Gaza. The PCRF plans to send a child for free surgery to Professor Wolleneck in the second quarter of 2002.

Previous Cardiac Missions