Because we now have nine centres specialising in paediatric cardiac surgery yearly doctors are able to conduct almost 3000 heart surgeries on very young patients. Surgeons perform operations using extracorporeal circulation to combat congenital heart defects in newborn babies as well as other procedures aimed at saving children's lives. So far, our Foundation has specifically supported children's cardiac surgery at three fundraisers.
1st Grand Finale in 1993 - we raised funds to buy equipment for Children's Memorial Hospital in Warsaw. The reply to our appeal for help has been so overwhelming that we managed to support hospitals across the country.
5th Grand Finale in 1997 - we raised funds to buy equipment necessary to buy devices to save lives with congenital heart disease.
23rd Grand Finale in 2015 - we raised funds to purchase equipment for paediatric wards, including portable echocardiography devices.
This year the Foundation decided to finance the subscription of these nine Polish cardiac surgery centres to this international database. The database is run by the ECHA, which unites the top medical professionals in the field of children's heart surgery. The database allows doctors to exchange their experiences and seek advice about the treatments and recovery of their little patients.
Last weekend we managed to complete a project that we have been working on together with the Polish community living in Scotland for several years. The GOCC Foundation has its own tartan! On Sunday, during a special visit to Scotland, Jerzy Owsiak received a brand new kilt.
