RGOL USA President Visits Bakulev Center

For over sixty years, the Bakulev Center for Cardiovascular Surgery in Moscow has pioneered the development of cardiac surgery for adults and children alike. Founded in 1956, the Bakulev today is one of the largest cardiac centers in the world. Each year over three thousand open-heart operations are performed on children, more than anywhere else in Europe. One thousand three hundred of those operations are on children less than one year of age. That’s why the Bakulev is so famous. Equally famous is Dr. Leo Bokeria, who is the Head of the Institute and Chief Cardiac Surgeon for Russia.

In 1998, inspired by the tireless efforts and compassionate vision of Kurt Weishaupt, The Gift of Life, Inc. initiated a Save A Child® program at the Bakulev. Thanks to the generous support of numerous Russian Gift of Life USA donors, The Gift of Life, Inc., and matching grants from Rotary International, some 500 children have received the gift of life in Moscow. Over the years, Kurt’s initiative has evolved into a program that is now administered and fully funded by RGOL USA. Children are screened by cardiac surgeon Dr. Sergei Gorbachevsky and operated on at the Bakulev Center or brought to the United States for surgery at participating Gift of Life hospitals.

Dr. Alexander Hindenburg, President of RGOL USA, recently visited the Bakulev Center on a trip to Moscow. He had an early morning meeting with Drs. Bokeria and Gorbachevsky. The meeting was very productive. Drs. Bokeria, Hindenburg, and Gorbachevsky discussed topics important to both the Bakulev Center and RGOL USA and agreed on further cooperation. Afterwards, Dr. Gorbachevsky took Dr. Hindenburg on a tour of the Bakulev Center. Everyone came away satisfied with the visit. Both organizations look forward to continuing their work together and helping to save more children’s lives.