Rotary gifts Sri Lanka its first Human Heart Valve Bank

Rotary International President Ian Riseley handing over the first Human Heart Valve Tuesday Bank to Secretary Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Ingenious Medicine Janaka Sugathadasa. Also present is Rotary District Governor Dr Ven. Bandageriya Thero and Director Health Dr. Wickramasinghe

The Ministry of Health states that today there are 2,500-3,000 children born with a congenital heart disease every year in Sri Lanka. Most of them will need either surgical or catheter based treatment within the first year of their life. Unless treated in a timely manner some of them will not live to see their first birthday and a majority will die before they reach adulthood. 

The reality is that Sri Lanka does not have a human heart valve bank and the current practice in Sri Lanka to use imported bovine grafts, which costs approximately $ 2,300 per graft and is beyond the reach of an average Sri Lankan household. The use of animal and artificial valves with a high number of rejection by the system also costs Rs. 300,000.

With this reality Rotary Foundation funded the first-ever Human Heart Valve Tissue Bank based on the needs assessment done Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. Duminda Samarasinghe and the then Governor of Rotary Sri Lanka and Maldives Gowri Rajan and past Rotary International President K. Ravindran, said Project Chairman Sushena Ranatunga.

With the setting up of the first Human Heart Valve bank at LRH this will be available free for the people of Sri Lanka, said Minister of Health, Nutrition and Ingenious medicine Dr. Rajitha Senaratne. “I was determined to give hope to the 1,500 children who suffer from congenital heart diseases and die annually. As the Global Rotary International President was a Sri Lankan it helped us globally to raise the money which indicates the power of Rotary and power of it when linked to a country,” said Rajan at the launch.

The Rotary foundation raised over $ 400,000 dollars to set up the first-ever Human Heart Valve Bank at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) and Rotary International President Ian Riseley and Gorvenor Rotary Dr. Ven. Bandagiriya Somawansa Thero officially handed over the first-ever Human Heart Valve Bank to Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Dr. Rajitha Senaratne in the presence of Secretary Janaka Sugathadasa, LRH Director General Dr. Jayasundara Bandara and LRH Director Dr. Wickeramasinghe.

“LRH is the largest children’s hospital in the country and largest in the south Asian region. Children from all over the island are treated here for serious illness and we are thankful to Rotary for having funded this project for Sri Lanka,” said Director General Dr. Jayasundera Bandara.

With the setting up of the Heart Valve Bank, Sri Lanka has the option of storing valves of dead people in this bank for use as and when required. Many Sri Lankans have given consent to donate their organs once they are dead. This will elevate heart surgeries to the next level in Sri Lanka, said Rotary International President Ian Riseley.

“We will not stop there. We will now launch into the setting up of the Critical Care Unit at Lady Ridgeway which is estimated to cost around Rs. 2 billion and it will be a partnership between the Ministry of Health, Rotary International and the people of Sri Lanka,” said Governor Rotary Dr. Ven. Badagiriya Somawansa Thero.