On Tuesday morning, a press conference took place in Da Nang to introduce the “Thien Nhan and His Friends” programme which provides genital organ regeneration surgery for children with genital defects.  The event was jointly organised by the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIPF) and the city’s Maternity and Paediatrics Hospital.   This is the sixth time that this programme has run in Viet Nam, and the third time in Da Nang.  Between 17 and 21 June, Italian professors and doctors, along with those from the Da Nang Maternity and Paediatrics Hospital, are performing free surgery on 12 children with genital malformities who had been identified earlier during medical examinations.

The President of the AIPF, Mr Greig Craft, (right) and a representative from the Maternity and Paediatrics Hospital

Also on Tuesday, the doctors carried out medical examinations of 40 children with such defects from Da Nang and the provinces of Quang Nam, Nghe An, Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Ha Tinh.

To mark the occasion, the AIPF donated over 34,000 USD to the city’s Maternity and Paediatrics Hospital.  The money will be used to purchase more medical equipment to be used for the treatment and surgery of child patients.

Over the past 4 years, Italian and American experts have carried out genital organ regeneration surgery on 74 boys and girls across Viet Nam.  This has helped to bring happiness and life-changing opportunities to these disadvantaged children.  The idea of the programme was inspired by the touching story of Phung Thien Nhan, a young boy with genital problems.  He had been abandoned by his birth-mother and he was then attacked by wild animals which chewed off his right leg and badly savaged his genitals.

A total of 46,000 USD, which has come from generous donors across the world, has been used to fund this year’s programme in Da Nang.  However, the programme is in need of an additional 40,000 USD for the surgery on the 40 children who had their examinations on Tuesday.