For many Berlin Heart staff members, providing ventricular assist devices for people who are waiting for a donor heart is more than just a job. Extending the lives of patients and giving them quality of life despite all circumstances is the motivation that drives many Berlin Heart staff members on a daily basis. Raising awareness for the issue of organ donation is therefore close to their hearts, hence many of them more than willingly followed the call for support and privately donated a total of € 1,345. Berlin Heart is now tripling the contribution made by its staff members to € 4,074, providing the outstanding amount of € 2,729 in order to finance the first project milestone.
With the "Films for Life" project, a number of staff members at the University Hospital of Munich, who are confronted with the issue of organ shortages every day, want to raise awareness of this in society and thereby boost their "willingness to donate". Instead of making a "one-size-fits-all" film, the project aims to create a series of effective short films, each tailored to a specific target or age group.
"In our daily work we often act on the boundary between life and death. Patients waiting for an organ transplant pose a particular challenge. The struggle of organ shortages in the field of transplant medicine has reached a tragic climax, and not just in our hospital. We are always asking ourselves how we can help. But in the end, society has to set an example. This is why we want to make our friends, neighbors and fellow human beings aware of this issue" says Prof. Dr. med. Christian Hagl, Director of the Cardiac Surgery Clinic at the University Hospital of Munich and patron of the campaign.
In order to finance the first short film (€ 25,000), in April 2021 the association Friends of the Cardiac Surgery Clinic of Munich raised donations with the help of the crowdfunding portal of Münchener Bank eG.
Many Berlin Heart staff members responded to the internally forwarded appeal for donations and put forward € 1,345 from private funds. Although the management originally wanted to double this amount, they actually tripled the amount and donated the remaining € 2,729 of the project budget of € 25,000.
"The issue of organ donation should be in the public eye and we at Berlin Heart are actively committed to an open exchange regarding organ donation. Our staff members take a great interest in the fate of our patients, big and small, and every day they experience how long the waiting time for a suitable donor heart can be –sometimes far too long. So we would like to send out a signal for them and show that they are not alone in this grueling period of waiting," says Dr. Ares K. Menon, Managing Director of Berlin Heart GmbH.
About Berlin Heart
Berlin Heart GmbH develops, manufactures, and markets innovative ventricular assist devices (VADs) for mechanical circulatory support. With the EXCOR® Adult and the EXCOR® Pediatric, Berlin Heart is the only company in the world able to provide support to patients of every age and size, from infants to adults, thereby meeting an important worldwide unmet need.
Berlin Heart’s systems provide left ventricular, right ventricular, or biventricular support (both sides); hospitals around the world use the system for short-, medium-, and long-term circulatory support, providing patients with a life-saving treatment option.
Users can also access round-the-clock medical and technical support.
Press Contact:
Berlin Heart GmbH
Marketing & Public Relations
Theresa Tolle
Wiesenweg 10
12247 Berlin
Tel. 030 8187 2600
theresa.tolle@berlinheart.de
Disclaimer: The access to some or all shown products may be restricted by country-specific regulatory approvals. The use of EXCOR®VAD for adults, RVAD-support, EXCOR® venous cannulas with grafts, Excor mobile and EXCOR® Active is not FDA-approved and not available for commercial use in the US.