Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Foundation Receives Its Largest Donation
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Amr Awadallah and his wife Shirin Hassan donated $2 million to support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the new Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre in Cairo
SAN FRANCISCO, June 7, 2022 (Newswire.com) - The Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Foundation Board announced that it had received a game-changing $2 million donation to support its new Heart Centre's 16-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The groundbreaking NICU will be named for Amr Awadallah, the noted Silicon Valley technologist and entrepreneur who founded ZIR AI Inc. and Cloudera Inc., and his wife Shirin Hassan. The NICU will be one of three intensive care units located in the new Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre in Cairo (MYGHCC), which is scheduled to open in 2023. The other two ICUs — one for pediatric patients and one for adults — remain available for naming opportunities.
Asked about his decision to lend such generous support to the mission of Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, Awadallah cited his recent visit to the Magdi Yacoub Aswan Heart Centre. "I had long been amazed by Dr. Yacoub's work but, on my tour of the Aswan Heart Centre, I was stunned by the modernity of the hospital and its facilities. Just as important, Shirin and I were struck by the genuinely collegiate and collaborative atmosphere among the medical professionals and staff there. Their operational conduct, communications, and relationships were exactly what I would hope to find in the most reputable facilities in the world, and illustrative of the kind of medical institutions that Egypt so desperately needs and deserves."
Awadallah said he admires the three core pillars of Professor Dr. Yacoub's vision for the Aswan Heart Centre and the new Global Heart Centre: (1) Expanding access to world-class heart healthcare services and treatment among underserved populations, (2) training healthcare professionals and scientists from across Egypt, Africa and beyond, who will return to their own hospitals to train other medical professionals in turn, and (3) becoming a Center for Innovation in heart-related medical research, especially for young children.
"This extraordinary vision that Dr. Yacoub launched in Egypt is remarkable," said Awadallah. "We are so proud to support this mission, and we feel the new Global Heart Centre will make a real and lasting difference, not just to the residents of Cairo but to the future of healthcare in the Middle East."
Dr. Yacoub welcomed the pledge, saying, "We are beyond grateful for this kind of transformative support. The impact of Amr and Shirin's generosity cannot be underestimated. Because of their generosity, the NICU at MYGHCC will be able to serve more than 1,350 newborn babies every year. On behalf of our whole team, we are deeply and lastingly appreciative — and look forward to putting their generous donation to good work."
About Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Foundation
The Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Foundation, a U.S.-based charity, was founded by Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub. The MYGHF is committed to changing the health outcomes of the most vulnerable in Egypt and the broader Middle East and Africa, particularly children, by providing comprehensive, advanced cardiac care available to all people in need, free of charge. The Aswan Heart Centre and the under-construction Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre-Cairo are facilities operated and funded with the support of MYGHF. It has achieved regional and international recognition as a Centre of Excellence for the treatment and research of cardiovascular diseases. The Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Foundation operates fully on donations.
Press Contact:
Reda Athanasios
director@myglobalheart.org
415 495 1064
Source: Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Foundation