5,000 Children born with hole-in-heart annually

An average of 5,000 children are born with hole-in-heart conditions in Ghana every year.

However, many of the children die before they reach their first month or first birthday.

The Director of the National Cardio-thoracic Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Lawrence Serebuor, made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic.

Dr Serebuor explained that one in every 100,000 live births in Ghana had a heart disease.

It is estimated that one per cent of all live births have various conditions of hole-in-heart.

Heart surgery

In spite of the high number of children with heart defects, the cardio centre, according to Dr Serebuor, could perform only 200 surgeries annually because of the high cost involved.

Currently, he said, there were 150 children on the waiting list of the centre yet to undergo surgery.

Cost of heart surgery

On the average, he said, it cost about $8,000 to perform a heart surgery.

However, the amount, was subsidised, as the Ghana Heart Foundation (GHF) usually took care of half of the cost, he said.

He said many heart conditions went undetected as a result of the non-availability of cardio centres throughout the country.

Ghana Heart Foundation

The GHF is a charity organisation that informs the public about heart diseases, assists people with cardiovascular diseases and funds cardiovascular research and training.

In 1998, the Executive Council of the foundation set up a trust fund and appointed a board of trustees to manage it.

Over the years, every patient undergoing heart surgery has received 50 per cent subsidy from the fund. 

In 2010, the GHF spent about US$300,000 to sponsor heart surgeries.

Call for support

According to Dr Serebuor, with the current donor fatigue across the globe, the GHF is not receiving the needed support.

He, therefore, called on philanthropists to support people with heart conditions to enable them to undergo surgery.

Writer's email: rebecca.quaicoe-duho@graphic.com.gh