The Vietnamese Heart Foundation and the Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital signed an agreement to implement the project "For a Belief in Happiness" with the aim of helping poor couples with infertility or those who are carriers of recessive mutation.
According to statistics, more than 1% of babies are born with inherited disorders of a single gene, which are mutations in the DNA of some genes and will be passed on to the next generation according to Mendel's laws of inheritance. Currently, scientists have discovered that there are more than 6000 single-gene disorders, which account for 20% of the causes of death in children.
Prenatal and neonatal genetic screening are methods that can help infertile or recessive gene couples have the chance to give birth to healthy children through preimplantation genetic screening, genetic screening for rare diseases, and in vitro fertilization.
The cost of each treatment usually is around 200 million VND, a considerable amount of money for needy families. That's also why the "For a Belief in Happiness" program rolls out to help couples in difficult and less fortunate circumstances.
On July 18, 2022, the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding between the Vietnamese Heart Foundation and the Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital was held at Vietnam Television headquarters.
To implement the "For a Belief in Happiness" program and to call for the participation of kind-hearted to support the couples in difficult circumstances who carry genetic rare diseases to have a healthy baby, the Vietnamese Heart Foundation - Vietnam Television has cooperated with the Hanoi Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology to implement this project in the hope that many families' dreams of happiness will come true.
Criteria for receiving program support:
- Couples in difficult circumstances, disadvantaged families diagnosed with infertility or;
- Couples in difficult circumstances, disadvantaged families with a history of giving birth to children with genetic diseases and have been identified as carrying mutated genes (with genetic mutation identification results):
+ Wife aged under 35 years;
+ Husband and wife are healthy carriers of the mutated gene: Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA);
+ The wife is a healthy person carrying X-linked genetic mutations: hemophilia A, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD);
+ Have sufficient health conditions to perform IVF, participating voluntarily.
At the ceremony, Ms. Vu Thanh Thuy, editor-in-chief of the online newspaper VTV News, director of the Viet Heart Foundation, said, "This is truly a meaningful program. With nearly 14 years of experience in implementing charitable programs, I realize that the "For a Belief in Happiness" program will bring joy and happiness to unfortunate couples suffering from rare genetic diseases when they receive cooperation from the community.
I hope, with the cooperation of the Vietnamese Heart Foundation and the Hanoi Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the program will succeed in mobilizing many kind hearts for the program".
People's physician Nguyen Duy Anh, director of Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital, also said: "Couples carrying genetic rare diseases can still give birth to healthy children through screening before embryo transfer to find healthy embryos so that the expecting mother will have the opportunity to give birth to healthy babies".
"Since 2019, thirteen babies were born healthy through this treatment. We hope that this result will serve as an example to get more support from the whole society to help unfortunate couples," he added.
At the ceremony, the Hanoi Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital handed over the amount of VND 785 401 000 (seven hundred and eighty-five million four hundred and one thousand dong) raised from the race "For a Belief in Happiness" to the fund.
In addition, the family of Mrs. Pham Thi Thu Hang also donated the program "For believing in happiness" VND 1000 million. So far, the amount of support transferred to the program account has hit VND 1,785,401,000.
It can be said that as "For a Belief in Happiness" is a program with a very practical and human significance, it must be replicated in the community to mobilize support for couples in difficult circumstances, those who are infertile or carriers of a recessive mutated gene so that they could have funds to carry out screening interventions and treatments.
For more information, please contact:
Fanpage of Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital or Social Work Department - Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital
* Direct support: Vietnamese Heart Foundation - Vietnam Television, 43 Nguyen Chi Thanh, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
* Donations via wire transfer to the account: Vietnamese Heart Foundation
Account no.: 6886 1006 9999, at Bank for Industry and Trade of Vietnam - Dong Da Branch
Payment details: Supporting Belief in Happiness
* Phone: 024.62969969
