SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — 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 imag
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