HUMANITARIAN DELIVERY CROWN PRINCESS KATHERINE FOUNDATION TO CLINICAL CENTRE OF SERBIA

EUROBANK DONATES FOUR HOMOGRAFTS FOR PATIENTS IN SERBIA

Belgrade, 20 March 2009 - Crown Princess Katherine Foundation delivered today a donation of ten infusion pumps to the Clinical Centre of Serbia and to the University Children Clinic in Tirsova Street. This donation was provided thanks to the generous support of the Pnoie Foundation from Greece through the Humanitarian Organization Lifeline Hellas. At the same time occasion Prof. Dr. Kalangos together with Prof. Dr. Jashari, President of the Eurobank donated four homograft’. This is the first time in Serbia four homograft’s were imported for the patients Prof. Kalangos who will operate during his visit in Belgrade.

Thanks to the initiative of Prof. Dr. Afksendios Kalangos, Head of Surgery at University Hospital in Geneva, and with the generous support of Their Royal Highnesses’ friends, Mr. Aleksandar Niklan, the Foundation of Prof. Dr. Kalangos “Heart for All”, and with the assistance of the Serbian Health Insurance Fund, the first operating unit for Congenital Heart Disease for children and adults was opened in December 2008 at University Children Clinic in Tirsova Street.

This important centre is the first multidisciplinary centre for treatment of children and adults with congenital heart disease at the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases of Clinical Centre of Serbia and University Children Clinic in Tirsova Street. The infusion pumps will be used for postoperative treatment of patients operated in this centre.

The delivery ceremony for the donation to the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases of Clinical Centre of Serbia included doctors and media representatives. Speeches given by Prof. Dr. Lazar Davidovic, Director of the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases, Prof. Dr Dusan Velimirovic, HRH, Crown Prince Alexander, HRH Princess Katherine, Prof. Dr. Afksendios Kalangos and Prof Dr. Ida Jovanovic, Deputy Director of the University Children’s Hospital in Tirsova. Also present were Duchess Danielle di Royal Bucquoi, Mrs. Alison Andrews, daughter of Crown Princess Katherine and Mr. Alexander Niklan, a great friend of the Royal Couple and an important donor.

Princess Katherine pointed out in her speech: “Having in mind that we invested a lot of time and energy into opening the operating unit for postoperative treatment of patients with congenital heart diseases, it is my great pleasure to contribute to the better functioning of this unit with the donation of infusion pumps that will help in postoperative treatment of patients. I am grateful to the friends from Greece, the Foundation Pnoie, which is helping my foundation with medical equipment.”

Professor Kalangos during his fifth visit to Serbia will operate on four patients, two children and two adults at the University Children Clinic in Tirsova Street and in the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases of the Clinical Centre of Serbia.

Prof. Dr. Afksendios Kalangos kindly offered training in the field of cardio surgery to Dr. Petar Vukicevic, cardio-surgeon from Institute for Cardio-surgery at the Clinical Centre of Serbia. Doctor Vukicevic will spend one year at the University Children’s Hospital in Geneva and after that he will come back to Serbia to use his knowledge on the patients in our country.