From Mongolia To Minnesota: Three Infants Arrive Sunday For Life-Saving Heart Surgery

Samaritan's Purse
Friday, 23 February 2001

Mayo Clinic Teams Up with Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse to Give Children Medical Treatment Unavailable in Their Country

Three infant children from Mongolia with serious heart defects are not old enough to know the magnitude of the gift they will soon receive. What their families know is that next month these children will return to their homeland with a second chance to live normal, healthy lives.

Seven-month-old Duulim Anuujin, 21-month-old Lkhagvasuren Erdembat, and 9-month-old Ganbold Uranchimeg will arrive in Minneapolis on Sunday, Feb. 25 with their mothers and an interpreter courtesy of Samaritan's Purse, the international relief organization headed by Franklin Graham. The children will then be taken to Rochester where they will begin preparations for life-saving heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic.

The children arrive from Mongolia at Minneapolis International Airport Sunday, Feb. 25, at 9:30 p.m. on Northwest Flight # 151.

The gift these children are receiving is medical treatment unavailable in their country. Currently there is only one pediatric cardiologist in the entire country of Mongolia serving at a hospital with very limited resources and equipment. In the past year, Samaritan's Purse has equipped this doctor with an echocardiogram machine and provided additional training to help children like these while the relief organization finds hospitals in the U.S. willing to donate their services.

The Children's Heart Project, a project of Samaritan's Purse, identifies children with life-threatening heart disease in countries that lack technology and training, and matches them with surgeons and hospitals in the United States that are willing to donate their time and services. The Mayo Clinic is providing the medical treatment free of charge.

Samaritan's Purse has handled travel logistics for the children, their mothers, and an interpreter; paid all travel expenses; and arranged for Bethel Lutheran Church in Rochester and two local families to host the children during their recovery period in the U.S.

Since the program started in 1997 in response to a critical need in Bosnia, Samaritan's Purse has brought more than 100 children to the United States for life-saving heart treatment. In addition to medical care, the Children's Heart Project provides state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and training for doctors overseas. The machines enable doctors in those countries to better diagnose defects, identify candidates for surgery, and ensure that the children are matched with the proper specialists in the U.S.

For more information, or to contact Samaritan's Purse, see their website at: www.samaritanspurse.org