CRI听力:Myanmar children with heart defects to receive free surgeries in Beijing

A total of 50 children from Myanmar, suffering from congenital heart disease, will start receiving free cardiac surgeries within the next month in Beijing.

A group of Chinese medical workers are in the South Asian country screening children born with heart defects.

Khin Thet Hnin is the mother of 7-year-old Yeh Min Khan from central Myanmar's Mandalay region, and she has been taking her son to see doctors since he was found to have congenital heart disease three years ago.

"When he was born, his skin looked blue. But we didn't know the reason. When he was almost four, we found that his heart might have problems. Doctors at a hospital in Mandalay said there's a hole in his heart, and he should have a surgery abroad. But we didn't have enough money. So he could only take maintenance medications," she said.

Khan's condition has worsened and Hnin was told last December that surgery is a must for her son, and the family's only hope was for a foreign medical or humanitarian organization to provide the surgery.

The surgery is considered high risk and complicated and is not offered in Myanmar.

After three months of waiting, they received good news, that the surgery could be conducted in China for free.

Geng Bin is with the Pediatric Cardiovascular Center of Beijing Anzhen Hospital, and is on a mission organized by a Chinese charity group, to conduct screenings at Yangon's Yankin Children's Hospital.

"We've been screening some 15 or 16 children so far this morning. They all have very severe heart problems," Bin said.

"We are here checking whether they are suitable candidates for operations. We have found that most of them are eligible for surgery," he added.

The mission, led by China Charity Federation's Xu Yixuan, will select 50 out of the 100 children born with heart defects from poor families across Myanmar and send them to Beijing for treatment.

"We've successfully helped cure 3,000 patients with congenital heart defects. So this is a traditional charity project for us. In Yunnan, we've had 500 operations. As Myanmar is Yunnan's neighbor, they share similar longitude and latitude, as well as similar climatic conditions, which also spells a higher incidence of congenital heart disease than in China's inland areas," said Xu.

Xu said the children will be treated at Beijing Anzhen Hospital by top-notch specialists, and the organization will pay for all expenses, including travel and accommodation for the children and their parents.

Khan and his mother Hnin will be in the first group to fly to Beijing. The surgery will save them at least 100,000 yuan, or nearly 15,000 US dollars, which is at least 15 times their family's annual income.

"I'm so happy to hear the news that I don't even feel the hunger now. He's my only child. All the money we make has been spent on his illness. After he recovers, he'll be able to go to school without any interruptions like the ones we have been through. I am so thrilled and grateful. It's like a dream. Is it true?" said Hnin.

The mission is part of the China Charity Federation's campaign to promote healthcare collaboration between China and countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, and is expected to soon cover additional countries such as Laos.