Critically Ill Children Arrive in Albany for Life-Saving Heart Surgery as American Heart Month Kicks-Off

Samaritan's Purse
Friday, 31 January 2003

Albany Medical Center and Rev. Franklin Graham Team Up to Give Children from Kosovo a Second Chance at Life

Samaritan's Purse, an international relief organization headed by Franklin Graham, brings two 8-year-olds with congenital heart defects from Kosovo to Albany, N.Y., for life-saving heart surgery.

For most people in the United States, American Heart Month serves as a reminder to become more heart healthy—watch the cholesterol, start an exercise program, and learn the warning signs of cardiac arrest. But for two young Kosovar children, American Heart Month represents a new lease on life.

Eight-year-olds Perparim Mustafa (male) and Mirjeta Bajrami (female) arrive in Albany for heart surgery at Albany Medical Center courtesy of Samaritan's Purse, the international relief organization headed by Franklin Graham. Traveling with their mothers and an interpreter, the children will be hosted by Loudonville Community Church during their five-week stay.

The surgery will be performed by Neil S. Devejian, M.D., the only pediatric cardiac surgeon in the region. Albany Medical Center has given life-saving heart surgery to six Samaritan's Purse Children Heart Project kids since April 2001.

Since 1997, the Samaritan's Purse Children's Heart Project has brought more than 175 children from Bosnia, Kosovo, and Mongolia to the United States and Canada for critical heart care.

Samaritan's Purse identifies children with life-threatening heart defects in countries that lack technology and training, matching them with hospitals and surgeons in the United States and Canada who are willing to donate their time and services. Rotary Gift of Life is subsidizing the cost of the surgeries.

While the international relief organization is transporting critically ill children to the United States and Canada for care, Samaritan's Purse is also providing doctors and hospitals overseas with the equipment and training needed to diagnose heart defects and effectively treat sick children in their own countries.

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