IJN Foundation and Maybank Islamic join forces to ‘Save A Child’s Heart’

Heart disease is a very broad term for many things that can go wrong with the heart — in both adults and children. Most children are born with a normal, healthy heart. However, in some cases, there are children who are born with abnormalities.

The most common heart defects among children are known as congenital heart disease (CHD), which present at birth and can affect the structure of a baby’s heart and the way it works. CHDs can vary from mild (such as a small hole in the heart) to severe (such as missing or poorly formed parts of the heart).

Promoting health and wellness of children across ASEAN

In 2012, Maybank Islamic entered into a unique partnership with the National Heart Institute (IJN) and IJN Foundation to effectively promote the health and wellness of children across Malaysia and the ASEAN region.

The programme aims to:

• Provide financial and healthcare assistance to underprivileged cardiac patients from around the regions.

• Provide support in terms of much needed medical equipment and subsidisation of medical expenses.

To date, Maybank Islamic has donated more than RM4 million to the IJN Foundation to assist procedure and surgery costs for underprivileged children with heart disease. The donation has benefited a total of 184 children (up until year 2022) providing an opportunity for these children to have a better quality of life.

A future where every child has access to life-saving cardiac care

The collaboration with IJN Foundation is consistent with Maybank Islamic's main objective of supporting children's education and health. Those who have been funded via Maybank Islamic’s ‘Save A Child’s Heart’ are usually newborns and schooling children from underprivileged families.

Apart from this, Maybank Islamic contributed to support the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) for IJN’s frontliners and medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maybank Islamic has also contributed towards IJN Foundation’s Ramadhan programme by providing sahur and iftar to caregivers of patients in the wards and critical care areas. Additionally, back in 2020, Maybank Islamic contributed foetal echocardiogram equipment, which helps detect pregnant mothers who are suspected to have foetuses with heart abnormalities. This donation has assisted in the ability to receive a diagnosis before the babies are born for early optimal heart treatment.

Overall, the foundation hopes to continue this collaboration and to work towards providing safe and proper treatment for underprivileged children, one heartbeat at a time.

This content is provided by IJN Foundation