Since October 7, 2023, Save a Child’s Heart has treated nearly 200 children. One of these children is a 12-year-old girl named Lamrot from Ethiopia. Lamrot came to Israel without family and has a younger sister whom she misses dearly. When Lamrot was younger she was experiencing extreme weakness and fatigue and was referred to Black Lion Hospital. To get there Lamrot and her mother had to take a 6-hour bus ride followed by a 3-hour walk to which her mother carried her the entire way because Lamrot was too weak. Lamrot was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), a congenital heart defect that affects the structure of the heart, causing her extreme fatigue. In May 2024, she underwent 2 life-saving cardiac catheterization procedures at the Children’s Hospital in Israel. Lamrot shares she is very thankful to be feeling better and loves playing with her new friends at the Children’s Home. She also hopes to become a doctor when she grows up!

Ongoing needs are unknown with the changing climate, but SACH will stand behind the hospital and their growing needs to support the Israeli patients while maintaining our lifesaving work.  Through the Urgent Needs campaign created after October 7, 2023, we provided funds that went directly to supplies and equipment for the blood bank, trauma equipment and machines, and respiratory machines for the NICU, among other areas.

“During the war we had many more mothers than usual who cannot turn to hospitals where they live in the south. This required more equipment. Thanks to your (SACH US) donations, we are able to do our work. Your support is heartwarming and it enables us to treat our little babies.”
- Dr. Anat Oron, NICU

Pediatric ER: Our children’s hospital and partner hospital treat a large area in south Tel Aviv, supporting the areas of Rishion, Holon, Bat Yam, Yaffa and Tel Aviv. Supporting the needs of the most economically and most diverse background in Israel. This new pediatric ER will allow us to provide greater support to this population and others as the stress on the medical system has been impacted since October 7th.
 
Simulation Center:  These facilities will allow for all staff of the hospital and not just children’s hospital to train and gain the skills to best save lives.

Yaffa Adar, an 85 year old woman, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz with her 38-year-old grandson, who is still held in Gaza. She is a Holocaust survivor, a survivor of the October 7th attacks, and is now one one of 10 released hostages to be treated by the Save a Child's Heart medical facilities and reunited with her family.

The Children’s Hospital was built with the intention of being a safe and warm place for children to heal comfortably with their families. Little did we know it would be used for these horrific circumstances, but we hope it brought Yaffa and her family, along with the other released hostages treated at the hospital, a warm and comfortable place during such an emotional time.

Save a Child’s Heart ran its first medical mission out of Israel during the war to provide aid and access to partners in Rwanda. The catheterization team was led by Dr. Sagi Assa from the Israeli medical team alongside partners in Rwanda from King Faisal Hospital in Kigali (KFH). Also on this mission are trainees, Dr. Lise Mumporeze and Dr. Gerard Misago, who have been studying with Save a Child’s Heart in Israel through our trainee program for the last two years and chose to stay in Israel during the ongoing war. During the mission, 22 Rwandan children were treated and saved. With innovative approaches that bypass traditional surgery for a quicker recovery, SACH not only saved lives but also initiated the establishment of a local catheterization service – a vital step towards sustainable cardiac care in Rwanda.

It has been such a great experience to work with the two teams (from Rwanda and Israel) and to put it into a perspective that this is where I’ll be coming when I’m done with my fellowship. What SACH is doing in Africa is great, but for my country it’s even more important that we will have the opportunity to treat children with heart conditions locally without needing to transfer them elsewhere to advance pediatric care and to save more children.
- Dr. Lise

With the ongoing war we will continue to support the needs of the trauma unit and to have our Children’s Hospital be a safe haven and facility for hopeful future released hostages. We’re working with Wolfson Medical Center to understand the growing needs of the hospital which includes the Pediatric ER, Simulation Center, and other department needs as they arise. SACH US is the only 501 c 3 that can support tax deductible donations with Wolfson Medical Center. Just as we did with the start of the war supporting blood banks and NICU needs, we will continue to adjust our activities accordingly with the needs on the ground in Israel while continuing our lifesaving heart treatments.