THE Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) is to host a free heart surgery camp for 30 children in collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief).

The camp is scheduled to run from today to Monday next week at JKCI in Upanga, Dar es Salaam.

The institute has called on the public to support the camp by donating blood. Each child undergoing heart surgery requires between six to seven units of blood.

Anna Nkinda, JKCI head of public relations and communications department, urged parents and medical professionals to bring children with heart conditions to the institute for evaluation and treatment.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday, she mentioned conditions to be treated as Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA), Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and Pulmonary Valvular Stenosis.

“The need for blood donations is critical, as each surgery requires a significant amount of blood,” she said. “We encourage everyone to come forward and contribute to this cause.”

KSrelief is an international organisation aimed at providing humanitarian aid and relief to those in need outside of the Kingdom’s borders. Activities of the centre were inaugurated in May 2015 under the patronage and guidance of King Salman bin Abdulaziz.