The Talmud teaches that whoever saves a single life is considered to have saved an entire world. If that’s the case, Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) can be credited with saving some 9,000 worlds.
SACH is Israel’s leading practitioner of medical diplomacy.
Founded in 1995 by the late Dr. Ami Cohen and headquartered in the Sylvan Adams Children’s Hospital at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, it provides free cardiac surgery for children with heart ailments regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or nationality.
This includes children from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, as well as youngsters from countries that are sworn enemies of Israel.
To date, over 9,000 children from more than 75 countries have been brought to Israel for treatment. Each child is accompanied by a family member or nurse from the child’s home country.
In addition, medical personnel from third-world countries are brought to Israel to train in all aspects of cardiac surgery so that children with heart problems can be treated closer to home.
SACH teams frequently travel abroad to evaluate children with congenital and rheumatic heart diseases, and often perform urgent surgeries when the child’s condition is so serious that immediate treatment is required.
'We are celebrating 30 years of saving worlds'
SACH volunteers and supporters met last Friday with President Isaac Herzog at his official residence to celebrate the 30th anniversary of SACH’s founding.
Those who attended, along with the aforementioned, were medical personnel, ambassadors, and other diplomats from some of the African countries from which children have been brought to Israel for surgery; representatives of African hospitals whose cardiology pediatricians were trained in Israel; representatives of international foundations that fund SACH; and mothers with children who recently underwent successful surgeries and who will soon be returning home.
Simon Fisher, SACH executive director, described the children who had been treated by SACH over the years as “living miracles,” adding: “We are celebrating 30 years of saving worlds.”
He emphasized that, from a small group of dedicated professionals, SACH had grown to global proportions. He explained that “a child in need is part of our collective responsibility.”
Herzog, who has long been familiar with the work done by SACH, said that the organization deserved a Nobel Peace Prize and pledged to do everything he could to bring that about.
He declared that he was honored to host a milestone anniversary of “a remarkable Israeli humanitarian organization of which we’re very proud.”
Herzog characterized SACH’s achievements as “the triumph of human kindness that connects a wide heart of human effort.”
But it is more than simply healing a diseased heart, he pointed out. “From Iraq to the Palestinian Authority, all have been welcomed with wide open arms – simply because they are children in need.”
Herzog saw the effects of this a year ago when he paid a state visit to Zambia and met with adults who had been healed in Israel as children and were leading fruitful and meaningful lives.
“Few things leave me prouder to be Israeli,” he said. “This is the essence of doing good in the world. This is something the international community should bear in mind when they accuse us of something else.”
In closing, Herzog implied that SACH received its inspiration from the biblical Noah: “One man who braved the current and ultimately saved the world.”
SACH co-chair Robert Baruch noted that over the years, SACH has given thousands of children a second chance of life, and has not been deterred by the child’s place of birth.
Children come to Israel as the hope of families who cannot find treatment at home, he said. “It’s a reminder of what can happen when people decide to act. The impact of SACH is far greater than its size.”
Mega philanthropist Sylvan Adams, together with a group of other philanthropic families living in Israel, established the Sylvan Adams Children’s hospital within the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon and shared some of his own SACH experiences.
The first time he visited, which was over a decade ago, he was on a tour. A SACH staff member asked him whether he would like to spend a few minutes watching open heart surgery being performed.
He agreed, and was so fascinated by what he saw, that he sat for hours, and instantly became a donor. The children’s hospital which bears his name came into being because before that, there was no children’s hospital in Holon. Since its inception, he has visited many times.
On that first occasion, he saw the surgeon being assisted by a doctor from Tanzania. What amazed him was that the two were conversing in Hebrew.
One per cent of all children are born with heart defects
Adams was shocked to learn that 1% of all children are born with heart defects, which makes SACH’s work all the more vital.
During his visits he has witnessed children from Gaza coming with their parents and sometimes even accompanied by their physicians. They were always treated with dignity – even after October 7, he said.
Along the entrance to the main building in the presidential compound, there were tall round tables bearing enlarged photographs of children who came with hope and left healed. Alongside each photograph was a round vase filled with white tulips.
When the petals of a tulip first open, they form the shape of a heart. The message, though subtle, was clear.