S. Korea's Medical Charity Program Bolsters Care for Int'l Child Patients

SEOUL, South Korea, September 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister: Chin Soo-hee) and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI, President: Ko Kyung-hwa) plan to invite 25 international child patients, from seven countries, to Korea over the next two months for free surgeries at nine local hospitals.

The invitation is part of the Korean Medical Charity Program aimed at sharing Korea's advanced medical services with the world. The Korean Medical Charity Program is part of 'Medical Korea,' which is a brand launched to promote the Korean medical industry in December 2009.

Under the Korean Medical Charity Program, the Korean Government will cover all patient and guardian travel expenses, while top-tier hospitals will share their skills to tackle diseases difficult to cure in the patients' home countries.

As the first case of the Korean Medical Program this year, eleven-month-old Kamel Amina Bakutjanovna from Kazakhstan, who has congenital heart disease, received free surgery at Sejoing General Hospital, one of leading hospitals for the treatment of heart disease in Korea, on August 29. She was invited by Minister Chin, who visited Kazakhstan from Aug. 24 through 26 to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the respective administrator on health and medical exchanges.

To step up the Korean medical charity activities, KHIDI will invite 25 child patients, including Kamel from Kazakhstan and other children from Mongolia, Vietnam, Russia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Egypt, to Korea until October this year. The nine Korean hospitals participating in the program are Sejong General Hospital, Cheju Halla General Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, Asan Medical Center, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Yeson Voice Center, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Severance Hospital and Samsung Medical Center.

KHIDI expected that the Korean Charity Medical Program would enhance the nation's brand image as a medical powerhouse and boost collaborations with other countries in the health and medical fields.  It also added that the Korean Medical Charity Program will foster a reliable image of Korea's advanced medical technology.

For more information, please contact Yang Ji-young of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute's International Medical Department on +043-713-8248, or sheepjy@khidi.or.kr.