Bangalore Doc Aims Free Heart Surgery on 30 Needy Patients

The leading cause of concern amongst Indians is heart diseases and diabetes. Such is the nature of the problem that it has become a lifestyle issue for many with the gravity of situation developing amongst people as young as 14-16 year old. However, the cost of treatment for heart diseases including heart surgery amounts to 2 lakhs which aren’t affordable for most people. To remedy this a Bangalore doctor has decided to help the poor with free heart surgery worth 1 Lakh rupees.

What is it?

Dr Kiron Varghese, the head of Cardiology at St John’s Medical College and Hospital in Bengaluru has decided to help 30 underprivileged people get the expensive angioplasty surgery for free.

“I have been wanting to treat the poor [for] free as they can’t afford the prohibitive cost of quality treatment,” the 59-year-old doctor told the IANS.

Why did he start this?

His main motive was to give quality healthcare to the weaker sections of the society, without decimating their life savings.

How will it be done?

He asked his friends and family to contribute to his cause and has raised enough money to perform these surgeries. The free surgeries, Varghese said, will be performed till 19 February 2019.

“As only a limited number of surgeries can be performed with the funds raised, younger patients and breadwinners of their families will get preference for the surgery,” he added, speaking to the New Indian Express.

A screening process has been initiated to prioritise patients according to the urgency of their condition.

The doctor aims to perform the maximum number of surgeries in the limited time, so one arterial block of patients will be cleared through angioplasty.

“The arterial blocks are more common among men in the 40-60 age group,” he said.

Source: Better India