ARMENIAN SURGEONS TO STUDY IN L.A.
Glendale News Press
Feb 11 2010
CA
Doctors aim to learn transplant techniques they hope will eliminate
need for ill children to travel for treatment.
By Melanie Hicken Published: Last Updated Wednesday, February 10,
2010 10:05 PM PST GLENDALE — Two Armenian doctors will visit Southern
California next month to study pediatric transplant methods at the
Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
Sponsored by World Children’s Transplant Fund, a Los Angeles-based
nonprofit, surgeons Gegham Poghosyan and David Dallakyan will spend
six months studying pediatric liver transplant techniques, which they
can then apply to their work in Yerevan, Armenia.
Each year, Armenian children die because of the lack of qualified
physicians and specialized equipment needed to perform successful
transplant surgeries, said Valerie McCaffrey, a member of the
nonprofit’s board of directors.
Meanwhile, transporting the children to other countries for the
procedures can expose them to other diseases and place undue stress
on their already weak bodies, she said.
"The goal is to train the doctors so the kids don’t have to travel
to receive these surgeries, to provide the training and technology
and donor awareness in these counties," she said.
Once the doctors complete their six-month observation and training,
they will return to Armenia, where they can share their techniques
with other doctors and continue to spread awareness, she said.
McCaffrey, who is of Armenian descent, spearheaded efforts to establish
a World Childrens Transplant Fund center in Armenia, where the fund
employs a full-time director who provides support to local doctors,
as well as conducting awareness and fundraising campaigns.
Other centers are in Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico.
The nonprofit has successfully lobbied for laws banning the sale of
organs in Armenia, she said.
"No one gets a penny from the organ they are going to be donating,"
she said. "Otherwise, kids will start disappearing off the street."
Next, nonprofit officials plan to lobby the government to change laws
that limit most organ donations to blood relatives.
Harut Sassounian, president of the United Armenian Fund, a coalition
of charities that send clothes, medical equipment and other items
requested by residents in Armenia, said the doctors would learn
valuable information to bring home to Armenia.
"The Armenian doctors are very talented and very dedicated to serving
their patients; however, they need the exposure to [the West’s]
latest medical systems and also the latest technology," he said.
Tonight, the World Children’s Transplant Fund, in conjunction with
the Armenian Consulate, will host a cocktail party to gather support
and donations for the visiting doctors program.
They are expected to arrive next month, at which point another event
will be held, organizers said.
In addition to financial donations to help support the six-month stay,
McCaffrey said she hopes the community will show their moral support.
"These two doctors are coming from a foreign country," she said. "We
want to integrate their whole experience so that they receive as much
help as possible."