Alexandria, Egypt
Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at the Nile of Hope Hospital
Alexandria, Egypt
July 31-August 8, 2026
The Nile of Hope pediatric heart facility is a modern, well-equipped, not-for profit hospital supported by the government and by private donors. The hospital has excellent equipment and is supported by very well-trained, competent staff level. They are seeking extra help to handle the more challenging cases, fine tune their ICU management and to embrace the increasingly large volume of referrals.
Dr. Mohamed Abdelmalak Abokandil, CEO, Nile of
Hope Hospital, invited the CardioStart team to join a one-week mission, led by Dr. Sameh Said, an Egyptian born native, (now in NY, USA), who is a regular visitor there. A team of 13 pediatric medical professionals and three outreach team members embarked on this first mission to Egypt. Children aged 2 months to 9 years received surgical procedures to treat congenital heart disease during the week.
Education in the ICU
CardioStart Nurses from the USA provided bedside teaching with support of 2 US-based Pediatric Intensivist/Cardiologists. They found the local team very skilled, motivated and welcoming of new policies/procedures and protocols to help them provide care for advanced levels of care. After the mission CardioStart continue to reach out with tools and techniques to assist with developing skills. A heart-lung machine is being sent to the hospital from Ottawa, Canada, to assist with expanding case volume and safety assurance.
Acknowledgements
CardioStart gratefully acknowledges the following donors who helped make this mission possible.
Artivion Inc., Kennesaw, GA, USA, for previous donation of homograft valve conduits.
Americares Inc., Essential medicines and two pulse oximeters.
Bill Nicotra, Senior representative, Custodial cardioplegic preservation systems, Inc., for donating solutions, and perfusion related donations.
Carrie Ochocki, Perfusionist, Brecksville, OH, USA for perfusion-related donations.
CardioStart International, Administrative staff for logistical management of the mission.
CardioStart Resale Thrift, Sisters, OR, USA, for financial support towards mission equipment costs.
Children’s LifeLine International, Denver, CO, USA, for financial support for some essential medications.
Mrs. Pam Harned, for surgical equipment donations.
Lake Oswego Methodist church, patch doll making group for donations of stuffed dolls and hearts to assist post-operative patient recovery splinting and comfort.
Rotary – Southtowne, Delta, & Springfield volunteers, Eugene, OR, USA, for equipment preparation, donation and logistics management.
John Sanders & Dr. Jennifer Crown, for financial support towards mission equipment costs.
Dr. Mohamed Malak Abokandil, Assistant and Strategic Management, Ms. Asmaa Fakry, the entire Nile of Hope Hospital staff, and visiting surgeons from Cairo University, for their collective collaboration and generous hospitality in support of the mission.
Pape Inc, Eugene, OR, USA, for heavy equipment loan in facilitating logistical management.
Tisgen Inc., Irvine, CA, USA, for their generous donation of novel pericardial membrane.
Dr. Dan Woodwood, Portland, OR, USA, anesthesiologist supporting medication donations.
Mr. Steven Yett, Eugene, OR, USA, for assistance with warehouse space for equipment donations.
Perfusion department, University of Ottawa, Canada, for donation of heart-lung machine.
