MEMBERS of  the Guyana Medical Relief Inc, (GMR Inc), a charitable organisation  comprising Guyanese living in the U.S.A., have donated two defibrillators to public medical institutions in Guyana to improve their capability for reviving  patients stricken by heart attacks.

Chief Operating Officer of the GMR Inc., Mr. Sharir Chan, disclosed that the beneficiaries of the two heart machines,  valued at US$5,000,  were the staff of the  Mahaicony Hospital  in Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice)  and the Bartica Hospital in Region 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni).
The GMR Inc, he said, has two other defibrillators in hand  for donation to the  Port Mourant Hospital in Region 6 and the Linden Hospital in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice), respectively.
Chan, who made the donations to the Mahaicony and Bartica Hospitals during a brief visit to Guyana recently, said that donations to the two remaining beneficiaries will be made when he returns to Guyana  later this month.
He said that  the GMR Inc. also currently has  an Ultrasound Machine which will be donated to an institution to be determined also later this month.
The GMR  (Inc), based in Los Angeles, California, was formed in 1984 by a small group of concerned Guyanese to provide sponsorship for urgently needed medical supplies and equipment to Guyana, for use by both public and private hospitals.
The GMR Inc. collaborates with, and gets supplies from, Direct Relief International (DRI), a California-based agency with experience in providing worldwide medical assistance for over 57 years.
The four defibrillators, valued at US$10,000 were bought with grant funds supplied by the Izumi Foundation of  Japan, another partner of the GMR Inc.
A defibrillator is an electrical device that provides a shock to the heart when a life-threatening, rapid, erratic beating develops.
The equipment provides  shocks that cause  the heart to stop, so that it can start beating  rhythmically again.
Chan disclosed that as part of its support to Guyana, the GMR Inc. had recently completed  refurbishing of the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Port Mourant Hospital free of cost to that institution.
This support project, he said, had cost the GMR Inc.  over US$40,000.