Page 5 - San Foundation Impact Report 2023/2024

Giving our tiniest hearts the best start in life
Every year the San welcomes around 2000 San babies into the world, something we are extremely proud of. That’s 2000 mothers
who need to be cared for, as well as every year, a small number of babies who will require an extra level of care in our special care nursery.
With so many locals proud to call themselves “San Babies” it was
little surprise to see so many of
you choose to support our Autumn appeal which focussed on maternity. Thanks to your generosity we are able to purchase two new incubators, specialised warming lights, two
new birthing beds and a range of specialised equipment. The impact of this equipment will be felt for many years to come, as the San family continues to grow and thousands of new San Babies are welcomed.
Dr Emily Granger, Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Sally McLeod, Senior Technician Perfusion with the new ECMO machine.
Generosity in Action
PURCHASE OF AN ECMO MACHINE
Thanks to our generous community the San now owns an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine. ECMO
is a form of life support and can be used for life-threatening heart and lung conditions. ECMO may be used in care for COVID-19, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and other infections. This specialised piece of equipment has already saved at least one life, acting effectively as an external heart for a patient who survived hours of highly complex heart surgery only to then succumb to an allergic reaction. The ECMO enabled the patient’s heart to rest and heal while the allergic reaction was managed and pleasingly the patient is now fully recovered. Usually reserved for the use of transplant teams, the San is extremely fortunate to have this specialist equipment at its disposal.
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