Understanding Congenital Heart Disease: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

-
Image
Congenital heart defects refer to defects in the heart that children are born with. These are one of the most common congenital defects globally. In India too, 200,000+ children are born with a congenital heart defect (CHD). These are the numbers of the cases that are recorded – there maybe many more which go undiagnosed and hence untreated. Only 25 per cent of the children diagnosed with a congenital heart defect are able to get the required treatment. A lack of awareness and access to resources are the biggest challenges in children getting timely treatment. Organisations like Genesis Foundation, a congenital heart foundation India has been taking steps to both build awareness and provide financial treatment to those who cannot afford the cost of treatment. The treatment for CHD is expensive and families that do not earn enough to meet their daily needs have to depend on funds they receive as a congenital heart disease donation to support the treatment. Symptoms of Congenital Heart
Post a Comment

Genesis Foundation & The work we do: Saving Critically Ill Children

-

We are a non-governmental organization that is based in Gurgaon, India. We help children who have been diagnosed with Congenital Heart Defects by ensuring they can get adequate medical care. Our work involves saving critically ill children between 0-18 years of age who come from lesser-privileged backgrounds.

The Story behind the Foundation

Jyoti Sagar and his wife Prema Sagar lost their son Sameer, who was born on December 20, 1983, to a congenital heart defect, almost 37 years ago. As grieving parents, they felt shattered by their loss. Beginning to volunteer at Missionaries of Charity felt like a step in the right direction, enriching the lives of others and healing their own. Eventually after finding solace in philanthropy, they turned around their loss into the genesis of the Foundation in 2001.

Genesis Foundation began supporting children suffering from a variety of critical medical conditions in the areas of cancer, heart, organ failure, thalassemia and extreme deformities. But with time, the focus of the Foundation narrowed down to Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) only, considering how underserved the ailment was in India. 

We offer financial support in saving critically ill children with Congenital Heart Defects from families where the monthly income does not exceed Rs 15,000. We strongly believe that every life should be given a chance and that no child should die due to poverty.

Congenital Heart Defects: The situation in India

Considering a birth prevalence of 9/1000, the estimated number of children born with CHD every year in India is more than 200,000. Of these, one-fifth of the children are likely to have a serious defect, requiring an intervention in the first year of life itself. Consequently, the total number of babies born with CHD are likely to be much more in regions with high birth rates

This makes CHD one of the primary causes of infant mortality in India. 

According to Anita Saxena’s report, most pediatric cardiac care centres are located in metropolitan cities, making the currently available care for these children geographically inadequate. For example, children born with CHD in the most populous states of India, such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, do not receive the care they deserve.

How are we tackling the problem?

Genesis Foundation has so far supported medical treatment for over 2900+ critically ill children. We have four pillars in the foundation that help us in fulfilling our mission.

Hope – This programme identifies children who need urgent medical attention. Under this program, we work directly and closely with the families, or guardians and the doctors to ensure not only timely but the best available treatment is provided to the children.

Care – Under this programme, we seek to build a network and work with doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies who are committed to saving the lives of critically ill underprivileged children.

Give – Aimed at building a community that whole-heartedly believes in our cause, the Give programme focuses on fund-raising initiatives. Under this program, we are committed to raising awareness, encouraging collaboration and participation of individual and institutional stakeholders – through CSR programs, individual donations, events and crowd-sourcing.

Learn – By creating a repository of information on Congenital Heart Defects in India, we stay abreast and current with the developments that have been made in this field, in the world.

If you believe in our cause that every child deserves an equal chance at life, then pledge your support with us at → https://www.genesis-foundation.net/Give.aspx

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 10 hospitals for Congenital Heart Disease Treatment

-
The number of hospitals offering Congenital Heart Disease Treatment in India is slowly increasing. In the early and mid-1990’s there were only a few hospitals offering treatment, but with advancing technologies and a greater need for such niche treatment, there are around 50 hospitals both in the private and government sector offering Congenital Heart Disease Treatment for children who are born with heart defects.  Here are the top 10 hospitals for child heart surgery in India: 1. Madras Medical Mission is the first hospital in India in the private sector to treat children with Congenital Heart Defects. The hospital was founded in 1982 by well-known Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon, Dr K M Cherian. The hospital is in Chennai. It is well equipped to handle all sorts of Congenital Heart Defects and around 400 pediatric open-heart surgeries to 500 cardiac Cath Interventions are done per year. Dr K Shivakumar is the Head of Department of Pediatric Cardiology.  Click here  to connect with them.
Read more

The importance of timey diagnoses is treating a child with a CHD

-
Image
An accurate and timely diagnosis has become critical in changing the long-term outcome for many conditions. This can be cancer, heart conditions, neurological conditions like autism in children, a diagnosis made on time enables one to undertake proactive steps and seek the right medical advice and treatment to ensure a better outcome.  When it comes to congenital heart defects (CHDs) also known as hole in heart by birth , the situation is also not so different. There was a time when a diagnosis of a congenital heart defect would have meant a death sentence- that is not the case anymore. In most cases CHDs can be treated, timely diagnosis being the key.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adverse perinatal outcomes and birth defects are responsible for the loss of 15 million years of healthy life due to premature death and disability. If these are diagnosed on time, there can be a significant improvement in infant mortality and morbidity.  Congenital heart defects affect
Read more

A Congenital Heart Defect Survivor's Story

-
Image
As a baby pushes its way out into this world, and takes that first tentative cry, a million dreams take birth in the hearts of the parents. Small dreams of teaching their child how to throw a ball, of the first day of school, or perhaps of watching him/her tie their own shoelaces for the first time. But what if the only dream you have for your child is that they are able to just live to see another day? This is often the plight of parents whose children are born with congenital heart defect. Read it full here: The Story of Anshul Written by Jyoti Sagar (Founder Trustee) Genesis Foundation ( Children's Healthcare Foundation )facilitates medical treatment for critically ill under-privileged children suffering with Heart Disorders. The support required in the said critical illness varies from specific surgeries (including neonatal), Cath Lab Interventions, along with recovery and recuperation post surgery.We Save Little Hearts.
Read more