Jingyan’s "Heart Guardian" Arrives in Hunan

Jingyan’s "Heart Guardian" Arrives in Hunan

On March 24th, the Beijing Jingyan Foundation, in collaboration with the Beijing Charity Foundation, Hunan Children’s Hospital, and other philanthropic partners, officially launched the Heart Guardian for Public Welfare, Supporting Rural Revitalization free medical consultation and screening for congenital heart disease (CHD) in seven counties of Hunan Province, including Longshan, Fenghuang, and Guzhang.

The Heart Guardian project is the Jingyan Foundation’s initiative to assist children with congenital heart disease. In addition to providing substantial funding for timely and high-quality treatment for impoverished children with CHD, the Foundation also works with local governments and hospitals to carry out CHD screenings. This marks the second stop of the Foundation's CHD screening activities this year, following the screening of 300,000 children in Baoshan, Yunnan. The Heart Guardian project has now expanded to Hunan.

The event was hosted by the Hunan Provincial Youth League and the Beijing Jingyan Foundation, supported by the Youth League Committee of the Hunan Provincial Health Commission, Beijing Charity Foundation, and the Longshan County People's Government, and organized by Hunan Children’s Hospital and the Shuxi Village Primary School in Ciyantang Town, Longshan County.

In the next six months, a team of medical professionals from Hunan Children's Hospital will travel to seven counties in Hunan Province, including Longshan, Fenghuang, Guzhang, Sangzhi, Tongdao Dong Autonomous County, Mayang Miao Autonomous County, and Xinhua Dong Autonomous County. They will conduct free CHD screenings and medical consultations for children aged 0-18. The initiative is expected to reach over 100,000 children.

Guarding Children's Health Begins with the Heart

When we think of children, the first image that comes to mind is often one of energy and liveliness. However, not all children are able to run and jump freely. According to the China Birth Defect Prevention and Control Report, congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect in China and also the leading cause of death and disability in newborns, especially among children under five years old.

For children with CHD, their world is often confined. Unlike other children, they can't run or jump freely and depend on constant adult care. Their companions are medications, pale complexions, and labored breathing.

At the Jingyan Foundation, we focus on safeguarding children’s health, starting with their hearts. In 2019, the Foundation officially launched the 'Heart Guardian' project, partnering with hospitals and organizations through a model that involves collaborating with designated hospitals. Together with government agencies and medical institutions, we conduct CHD screenings for children and provide timely, high-quality treatment to those in need, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. By the end of 2022, the foundation had supported 152 children with congenital heart disease, contributing over 2.5 million RMB in aid, with our efforts extending across multiple provinces, including Yunnan, Tibet, and Guizhou.

Congenital Heart Disease Is Not Scary
Jingyan Helps with Early Diagnosis and Treatment

Congenital heart disease (CHD), though a serious threat to children's health and, in severe cases, life-threatening, is not incurable. Many cases of congenital heart disease (CHD) are not detected early enough, and by the time symptoms appear and the child is taken to the hospital, it’s often too late for surgery, leading to devastating outcomes. Early diagnosis and treatment are critically important for children with CHD. Statistics show that with timely diagnosis, the overall surgical success rate exceeds 97%, and most children can achieve a quality of life comparable to that of healthy peers after surgery.

In recent years, the Jingyan Foundation has actively partnered with local governments, hospitals, and other organizations to conduct CHD screenings in underdeveloped regions. This February, the Foundation collaborated with the Baoshan Branch of the Red Cross Society of China, the Chinese PLA General Hospital, the Beijing Charity Foundation, and other partners to implement a congenital disease screening program, including CHD, across various locations in Baoshan, Yunnan Province, benefiting more than 300,000 people.

This time, the Jingyan Foundation has partnered with Hunan Children's Hospital and the Beijing Charity Foundation to launch CHD screening programs in seven counties in Hunan Province, including Longshan, Fenghuang, and Guzhang. Over 100,000 children are expected to benefit from these screenings.

Wang Shan, the Program Director of the Jingyan Foundation, remarked, “Looking ahead, we’re committed to extending our efforts to more underserved areas, actively conducting CHD screening programs, and creating accessible pathways for children from disadvantaged families to receive support. Our goal is to help every child with CHD achieve a healthy heart—so more children can run freely under the open sky, and more families impacted by CHD can find renewed hope and a brighter future.”