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The Save a Child’s Heart Program was founded in 1995 by Dr. Amram ("Ami") J.
Cohen. His vision, commitment, outstanding skills and unstoppable zeal brought
this life-saving undertaking to a prominent position within the international
community of health organizations.
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Dr. Amram "Ami" Cohen
Founder, Save a Child's Heart |
Dr. Cohen was born in Washington D.C. in 1954. After earning his Bachelor of
Science degree at Johns Hopkins University, he studied medicine at the
University of Virginia.
In 1988, while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces in Korea, Dr. Cohen was
approached by the head of an international organization, Save the Hearts. The
organization was sending orphaned and indigent Korean children to western
countries for medical care not available locally. Dr. Cohen was so impressed
with the concept that he requested and received permission from his superiors
to participate in the program. During the remainder of his time in Korea, he
performed 35 pediatric cardiac operations, giving those children a new lease on
life.
Dr. Cohen served for eight months in Saudi Arabia as the Chief of Thoracic
surgery during the Gulf War. He helped set up an America Hospital at the Dahran
Air Base where the American Service Men were treated.
Dr. Cohen and his family moved to Israel in 1992 where he practiced at Edith
Wolfson Medical Center (WMC) in Holon. After working at WMC for two years Dr.
Cohen received a call from a doctor in Ethiopia asking if he could operate on
two children that needed pediatric cardiac surgery quickly or they would die.
He asked for and received permission from the hospital to do the two operations
gratis. The children were brought to Israel where Dr. Cohen performed the life
saving heart surgeries. After three weeks of recuperation, the children
traveled back to Ethiopia to live normal healthy lives. In Ethiopia, the word
spread quickly, and almost overnight the waiting list of 9 to 10 surgical
candidates for SACH grew to 900.
Dr. Cohen asked other doctors at Wolfson Medical Center to volunteer their time
and expertise to help more needy children. One of the doctors at Wolfson,
originally from Moldova in the former Soviet Union, knew of other children from
his native country who were in desperate need of cardiac treatment. Soon after
the first surgery on the two Ethiopian children, a SACH team was traveling to
Moldova. Then children began arriving at Wolfson Medical Center from all
corners of the world. This was the beginning of the Save a Child’s Heart
Program.
Dr. Cohen passed away suddenly in 2001 leaving a legacy of hope for the
disadvantage children of the world. He shared his vision with the Society of
Thoracic Surgeons in an article he wrote in January 2001. "I am convinced that
for the vast majority of people who choose cardiothoracic surgery as a
profession, idealism was initially a strong factor. For those who are
searching, join us and let’s make the network to help children with heart
disease around the globe. There is work for everybody. There are no dollars and
cents in it, but it is worth a fortune."
Today, SACH is the world’s largest humanitarian program providing urgently
needed pediatric heart surgery and follow-up care for children from third world
and developing countries.
It was Dr. Cohen’s wish to initiate an endowment program for SACH, so every
child that is in desperate need of a cardiac operation will receive it. When
Dr. Cohen tragically passed away, the Save a Child’s Heart Endowment Fund was
renamed in his memory.
Dr. Cohen enjoying the sunshine at the beach in Isreal with some of
his patients after their operations
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