Gift of Life Bucharest Hospital Finally Opens

The "Dăruiește Viață" (Give Life) hospital, in Bucharest, started functioning de facto in mid-April

Luiza Moldovan, 14.08.2024, 14:00

The “Dăruiește Viață” (Give Life) hospital, in Bucharest, started functioning de facto in mid-April. 50 children have already been transferred from the old oncology, neurosurgery, and surgery wards of the “Marie Curie” hospital, in a carefully managed process, with a focus on the mental and physical comfort of the little patients. Already, on April 15, the first child had been operated on. The “Give Life” association, the NGO that built the hospital from scratch, from the donations of 350,000 individuals and 8,000 companies, announced, through its founders Carmen Uscatu and Oana Gheorghiu, that it has no intention of stopping here and that it wants to start the construction of a new building where the other departments of the “Marie Curie” hospital will also move.

It was a long bureaucratic process, unfairly long for the small beneficiaries of this unique project in Romania. Carmen Uscatu talks about what this meant from a human point of view:

“It is important to state that we are not fighting with the state institutions, on the contrary, we believe that collaboration is needed for this project to truly reach its potential. This project is a hospital of the future. Here the children will be treated at the highest standards, if we continue to collaborate with the management of the “Marie Curie” hospital, with the Ministry of Health, with the Government of Romania. Of course, the children were transferred, and the joy I read on their faces I don’t think I can ever forget. In fact, that was the moment when I realized that all these years in which, sometimes, it was very difficult for us, all the battles we fought with mentalities were worth it, because their smile and the parents’ hope are what keep us able to move on”.

Oana Gheorghiu talks about what it means to believe in your project, in your dreams, despite all the obstacles:

“There were many people who, perhaps, at the beginning did not believe in our project, did not believe, perhaps, that we could raise all the money, or perhaps did not believe that we would be able to build a hospital to the standards which we proposed. Fortunately, however, these things happened. We hope that those who were reluctant at the beginning have seen that such a project is possible, with involvement, with determination, with perseverance. I was on a radio show and then listeners would call in and ask questions or give their opinion. One of the people who called in live, then mentioned that he didn’t trust in this and didn’t donate, he was sorry he didn’t do that, but he promised that from now on he would support all the projects of the “Give Life” association. Because, here, it is more than obvious that we did what we promised, and that we kept our word. I think that the fact that this project has come to fruition, and that the patients are already being treated in the hospital and that they are benefiting from these conditions is the best proof that together, if we gather, if we are in solidarity, we can do extraordinary things, and as a life lesson it is, I don’t know if we can say a life lesson, but we can see how much impact teamwork has, how much impact we have together, in solidarity and with the desire to do good things for others “.

Let’s talk a little about patients’ rights in Romania. Oana Gheorghiu:

“Unfortunately, in Romania patients are often put in a position to fight for their rights. Most of the time we are talking about patients with oncological diseases, patients in difficult situations, and for whom the battle is difficult to fight. That is why families often turn to associations. Sometimes we happen to be that association that supports the struggle of families and patients. Not infrequently we have been able to support with pro bono lawyers patients who needed certain treatments that they could not obtain, either because the state did not pay for them, or because they were not available on the market. Fortunately, the courts are understanding enough and wise enough, I would say, to give the patients the treatments quickly by presidential orders, until the process is resolved, and until the House of Health is somehow made to find a long-term solution. The healthcare system in Romania is not the most patient-friendly, we all know that, we all face obstacles and hurdles in finding treatment solutions, especially in difficult situations. That is precisely why we notice that often our politicians, our ministers, our doctors, university professors, choose to be treated abroad when they have serious illnesses. This is something that says a lot about the quality of the medical act in Romania, and maybe this should give politicians something to think about, especially in this election year”.

Added to the sometimes precarious infrastructure is a medical drug crisis. Carmen Uscatu, again, about how we can reduce this handicap:

“I believe that the solutions to the drug crisis can only be identified if we put the authorities, NGOs, and patients at the same table together. Unfortunately, this dialogue has not yet been initiated. “Give Life” came up many years ago with a report regarding the lack of cytostatics and with some solutions, but they were not implemented at that time. It is dialogue, however, what will generate solutions, which will then be applied”.