The life of a six-month-old Palestinian baby girl was rescued by the collaborative efforts of Israeli and Palestinian medical staff from Save A Child’s Heart (SACH) at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel this past week.
Lama, a six-month-old baby girl from Gaza born with a heart defect, had been receiving treatment in Gaza since her diagnosis under the care of Palestinian paediatric cardiologist Dr. Fayez Shakalia.
Dr Shakalia received training in these types of medical procedures by the Israeli NGO SACH, which brings doctors from the Palestinian territories and developing countries to come to Israel and train with Israeli medical experts.
SACH brings children to Israel from all across the world for lifesaving heart surgeries and has treated more than 5,000 children from 62 countries to date.
Numerous CFI parliamentary delegations have visited SACH in Holon.
Lama was diagnosed with a heart defect that results in abnormal blood flow between two of the major arteries connected to the heart, a condition which requires medical intervention. Her treatments were progressing smoothly at the local Gaza hospital until a catheterisation procedure went awry, requiring Lama’s immediate transfer to an Israeli hospital to receive open-heart surgery.
Urgent requests were then sent to Israeli authorities allow Lama into Israel, while separate requests were then sent to the Palestinian authorities requesting she be able to leave, accompanied by her mother, to the Wolfson Medical Center for her lifesaving treatment. Lama was transferred via ambulance through the Erez Crossing and from there driven to the hospital in Holon.
