German professor Erich Johann Lejeune, Founder of Heart for Heart Foundation for Life, joins a donation of a Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) system and two cardiac ultrasound machines to the Đà Nẵng General Hospital for saving more kids with heart disease. Photo courtesy of Anh Đào

ĐÀ NẴNG — German professor Erich Johann Lejeune, Founder of Heart for Heart Foundation for Life, presented a Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) system and two cardiac ultrasound machines donated by Heart for Heart Foundation to the Đà Nẵng General Hospital on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of co-operation in the region.

It’s the fourth DSA system that Erich Johann Lejeune and the foundation have donated to the hospital to provide better treatment for kids and people with congenital heart disease in the central region and Central Highlands.

The donation, worth EUR1 million (about US$1.12 million), will help doctors and nurses at the hospital improve heart disease screening for thousands of patients, especially kids.

German professor Erich Johann Lejeune and members of the Heart for Heart Foundation for Life from Germany share a photo with congenital heart disease kids at the Đà Nẵng General Hospital. Photo courtesy of Anh Đào

A report from the hospital unveiled that more than 500,000 children in central Việt Nam had received free screening examinations for congenital heart defects thanks to the services, leading to diagnosis in around 3,700 cases, and 2,000 kids had been given surgery and treatment over the past two decades.

Director of Đà Nẵng General Hospital, Dr Lê Đức Nhân, said the co-operation between the hospital and the foundation, with support from German medical professionals Erich Johann Lejeune and his wife Dr Irène Lejeune – CEO of the foundation, has helped improve professional capacity for doctors at the hospital in heart disease treatment and surgeries.

Dr Nhân said thousands of underprivileged kids with heart ailments have been saved through co-operation programmes for more than 20 years.

He also said Professor Erich and his wife had supported the hospital’s cardiology centre with medical equipment and facilities worth millions of euros, and established the first congenital heart ward in 2006.

Erich Johann Lejeune shared that the value of money only acts when it is used with true love in saving more kids with heart disease.

He committed that the foundation will keep boosting its co-operation programme with the city’s health care service to bring better lives for many Vietnamese families in the future.

Last year, Professor Erich and Dr. Irene were given civic awards for their work supporting the city's healthcare services over past decades.

The hospital also reported that German doctor Henrich Netz and Vietnamese doctor Lê Trọng Phi, with support from the Heart for Heart Foundation, had performed surgeries and treated more than 3,000 underprivileged youngsters suffering from heart disease.

The Lejeune family and the Heart for Heart Foundation donated the first DSA system in 2006 before supporting the introduction of the Congenital Heart ward and the second DSA in 2013.

The third DSA donation and a package of angiography with auxiliary equipment was given to the hospital in 2024.

Representatives of the Heart for Heart Foundation for Life from Germany and leaders of Đà Nẵng City and General Hospital of Đà Nẵng join the 20th anniversary of the co-operation between the foundation and the city in healthcare service. Photo courtesy of Anh Đào

The foundation also provided medical training courses for doctors and staff at the hospital, as well as helping upgrade medical equipment and treatment facilities in the cardiovascular department.

The city’s general hospital has also assigned the first 200-bed cardiology centre to offer examinations, treatment and surgeries for patients in the city and the sick from the central region and Central Highland provinces.

The hospital also debuted a smart medical kiosk system to support patients with easily accessible data and procedure details.

The stroke centre under the hospital also won ‘platinum status’ from the World Stroke Organization (WHO) for their efforts in caring for stroke victims in 2021. — VNS