Thiamine deficiency, commonly referred to as beriberi, is rampant among the patients brought to Lao Friends Hospital for Children, especially among the poorest and most isolated rural children. Without quick treatment, most of these children would die.

By caring for hundreds of children per year with a disease that is found throughout rural populations in Asia and Africa, LFHC has the opportunity to become a center of excellence for patient care, education, and research into beriberi and milder forms of thiamine deficiency.

We are thus proud to have partnered with colleagues at the Institute for Global Nutrition at the University of California, Davis and the Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute to undertake what may be the world’s most comprehensive study into the physiology and pathology of thiamine deficiency in infants. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a large team of researchers has joined LFHC to enroll nearly 700 hospitalized children over the course of the next year who have illnesses consistent with severe thiamine deficiency.

Read more here.

   LFHC’s process of training nurses in anesthesiology recently gained formal recognition by the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists.

Three staff members have met all the educational requirements to become graduates of the LFHC Nurse Anesthesia Program. Noy Keopaseuth and Si Ly are the latest graduates. They join nurse anesthetist Kuelee Lao Faiyia, who graduated from the program last year.

The scope of LFHC’s program has already been approved by the Luang Prabang Department of Health.

The three LFHC nurses spent 5-7 months at Angkor Hospital for Children as part of their education. The nurse anesthetists at AHC have received the Golden Apple award from the Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) organization for their teaching program in 2019.

In the next six months, Kulee will be traveling to the United Kingdom to observe anesthesia care and Si Ly will travel to Pittsburgh to observe anesthesia care.

Read more here.

   A motorbike accident left 14-year-old Thong unconscious and injured, so his family rushed him to nearby Nambak District Hospital, where he was treated for his wounds and then referred to Lao Friends Hospital for Children.

After a five-hour journey, Thong and his parents arrived at LFHC. Emergency Room doctors immediately noted that the boy exhibited symptoms indicative of a severe head injury.

A surgical team successfully relieved the pressure from an epidural hemorrhage and Thong gradually recovered during a two-week hospital stay.

Read about his treatment and recovery here.

   The Luang Prabang community came together last month to donate blood and support Lao Friends Hospital for Children and the Lao Red Cross in raising awareness about the need for blood donations.

A total of 171 blood donors contributed to the five-day campaign, which ended on World Blood Donor Day (June 14) – 60 more donors than the 2018 campaign.

The donated blood is used at LFHC during surgeries and for transfusions needed by children afflicted with thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder.

View more photos from the campaign here.

   Runners planning to participate in this year’s Run for the Children Luang Prabang Half Marathon are not only training for the event but also busy setting up crowdfunding sites.

One group of runners, the Run with Heart team, invites you to join them for the half marathon or to support their effort by making a donation to their Crowdrise campaign.

The team includes runners from the local community who are participating in the annual charity race to raise money to support Lao Friends Hospital for Children.

The annual half marathon is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 20, in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Lao PDR.

Information about donating to the race or setting up your own Crowdrise campaign can be found here.

You can donate to support the Run with Heart team here.

  Information about the race and how to register can be seen here.