PORTLAND — A five-month-old girl from the Dominican Republic had successful open-heart surgery at Maine Medical Center this morning, making her the first child to receive medical care in the state through Rotary program Gift of Life.
Genesis Lluberes’s surgery began about 7 a.m. and was complete about 10:45 a.m., said Paul Emery, a member of the Westbrook-Gorham Rotary Club.
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Since 1974, Gift of Life has arranged for more than 10,000 children with heart defects to receive medical care, but never before in Maine.
Emery arranged for two girls from the Dominican Republic to have surgery at Maine Medical Center to repair a defect called tetralogy of fallot.
Genesis and 21-month-old Daisy Mayi, who will have surgery this week or next week, arrived in Portland with their mothers on May 1.
Gift of Life is raising money to pay for living expenses while the girls and their mothers are here.
Medical costs are being covered by The Maine Foundation of Cardiac Surgery’s Pediatric Fund and Maine Medical Center.
Daisy was originally scheduled to have surgery today, but had a cold, so Genesis took her place, said Dr. Reed Quinn, who is performing the operations.
Quinn, Maine’s only pediatric heart surgeon, said that both girls probably would not live beyond the age of 3 or 4 years without the surgery.
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