Free surgery for CHD through philanthropy—a sustainable model?

Abstract

Among the multiple challenges faced by children from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with congenital heart disease (CHD), the economics of care remains foremost, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality. This paper evaluates the four existing finance models available for healthcare systems and proposes a new model—the GIVE model (government, institutions and individuals, values, and engagements)—as the fifth model for global sustainable healthcare systems. The paper presents an evaluation of a chain of three paediatric cardiac hospitals in India to assess the sustainability of their philanthropy-based operational model, through which surgeries are offered completely free of cost to children with CHD. The three Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Centres for Child Heart Care in India have been proponents of this philanthropic model for over a decade. From February 2013 to January 2024, 19,684 patients with CHD received surgeries at no cost. The average cost of surgery was reported to be USD (United States Dollar) 1800. A case study of one of the Sanjeevani Centres showed that 23.8% of patients were in STAT Category 3 and above, as defined by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, with an in-hospital mortality rate of 2.08%. The evaluation highlighted the institution’s numerous strategies to enable sustainability in key aspects of operations, economics, and social impact. Despite challenges, the Sai Sanjeevani philanthropic model, which encompasses both economic and social impact, is dependable and can be replicated. The proposed GIVE model is recommended for adoption by LMICs as a global way forward to enable free CHD surgeries through sustained philanthropy, strengthened by a shared vision and collaborations.