To finance its "Gift of Life" programme, a charity project corrective heart surgery for children with congenital heart defects, the Penang Adventist Hospital (PAH) aims to raise RM1 million in donation this year.

This programme gives children with heart problems a chance to lead a normal life, if they can be successfully operated.

“Our GOL programme is for heart children of any race or nationality, whose parents are too poor to afford the cost of such surgery,” said PAH president Teddric Mohr.

He said the PAH had over the past two years, performed more than 70 charity heart operations for children, of which more than 50 were Malaysians and 16 were Cambodian children.

"This year, we aim to raise RM1 million to supplement the US$100,000 (RM380,000) grant by Rotary International for the GOL programme," he said.

Under the Rotary International GOL programme, the services organisation will subsidise US$2,000 for each charity heart operation performed by PAH on children, irrespective of race or nationality.

As the cost of an open heart surgery is between US$4,000 and US$5,000 depending on the procedure and complications.