25 years of Operation Open Heart - we're still going strong!

However I need you to make sure we can keep mending hearts in the future!

Its hard to believe that it was 25 years since that trip to Tonga to see my parents.  They were working there at the time, and what started out as a holiday turned into one of the passions of my life.  I was working as a cardiac nurse and could not believe the lack of infrastructure or healthcare available in Tonga.  People were dying of treatable disease – things we all take for granted each day, it still challenges me today.  Where you live should not determine whether you live.

With a few friends we managed to scrape up enough money and equipment to return to Tonga the next year, and that was the simple genesis of Operation Open Heart, a mobile surgical team providing life changing surgery in developing countries to those with simply no access.

Fast forward 25 years and its humbling to see what has been achieved.  Multiple country project leaders (I lead 2 projects), a full time manager, over 80 trips, 12 individual countries, 1750 volunteers from all over Australia, and over 2000 lives changed.  Without Operation Open Heart most of these patients would not have survived, let alone be leading the active and productive lives they now are.

For me personally though the most significant outcome is the training and skill transfer to the local healthcare staff in the countries visited and in the end a sustainable local program so we can move on to another needy country.  One of my greatest joys was seeing local surgeons in Papua New Guinea operate with sufficient skill to complete an entire operation, while our volunteer surgeons watched on.

This mini-website is aimed to keep you updated and informed of the latest news and events from around the world with Operation Open Heart.

Financially, its never been more challenging. It costs approximately AUD$3,500 for one operation.  In the grand scheme of things this is phenomenally cheap with similar surgery in Australia costing 10-15 times that much.

I need your help!! How many hearts can you mend today?  Please consider an online secure donation today.  A tax deductible receipt will be issued instantly and emailed to you.
  
 

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