In April 2011, the Association of Friends of Children with cancer ELPIDA launched a new campaign aiming at the smooth operation of the Childrens Oncology Unit ”MARIANNA V. VARDINOYANNIS – ELPIDA” and the establishment of new services, required for the treatment of sick children.
The launch of the new campaign was announced at a Press conference by the President of the Association, Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis.
Addressing the journalists present, Mrs. Vardinoyannis said the following:
“Thank you very much for your presence here, which has always provided valuable support to the actions of ELPIDA. These actions have led to the creation of the first Children’s Oncology Unit, where 863 children have already received treatment, 17 bone marrow transplantations have been carried out, and there have been over 4.016 day clinic visits. Considering the fact that the hospital has only been in operation for 4 months, these figures constitute a shocking reality that proves the great need existing in our country for such a hospital, but also the great responsibility that ELPIDA has undertaken regarding its support and operation. For us, nothing is more important than the childrens health. And those who believed that the work of ELPIDA was completed with the building of the hospital are wrong. The hospital is a new starting point for ELPIDA, since we will always be at the forefront of the struggle and the emerging needs of the hospital that will always go hand in hand with the latest developments in the field of childrens cancer internationally will never end. No child should be lost…”
The aims of ELPIDA’s new campaign include:
- The establishment of a Bone Marrow Donor Bank that will operate in the Hospital and provide transplants to all children that need to be submitted to a Bone Marrow Transplantation.
- The establishment of a service for the provision of placenta stem cells, with the cooperation of the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, chaired by the Academician Professor Grigoris Skalkeas, that will provide the stem cells required by the children from its Bank.
- The establishment of the home care service. Through this programme, nurses from the Unit will provide nursing care at the children’s home, taking blood in order to monitor the progress of the disease and carrying out all necessary nursing actions; when there is need, the children and their parents will also receive the valuable support of psychologists and social workers at home.
- The establishment of a Psychosocial Service within the Hospital in collaboration with the associations of parents of children with cancer, who for many years have been assisting with and supporting the work carried out at Aghia Sofia and Aglaia Kyriakou hospitals.
- Provision of information and raising awareness among the public so that every person can support the work of the Childrens Oncology Unit according to his/her means.
For the implementation of the above projects, Mrs. Vardinoyannis appealed to all, asking each person to contribute whatever they can, stating that: ”No sensitive society- and the Greek society has proven its sensitivity in practice- can allow sick children to be among the victims of any economic crisis, however severe it may be for all adults. ELPIDA will not allow this to happen! And we are certain that all the people of Greece will be by our side.”
Whoever wishes to make a Gift of Hope can:
Call 9011405240 from a landline or donate in the Bank of Piraeus Account no 5014005420180.
