Urgent Surgical Procedure for The Tibetan Monk Tamding Tsering

Project location: India, Bangalore
Project start date: February 2007 - Project end date: March 2007
Project number: 2006-39
Beneficiary: Samantabharda Institute

The Samantabhadra Institute is a Rome-based Centre for the study and practice of Mahayana Buddhism ( of the school of Gelugpa Tibetan Buddhism), established in 1981 by the Ven. Ghesce Jampel Senghe. It promotes authentic Tibetan Studies and knowledge through seminars, lectures, workshops, cultural events and exhibitions, in the attempt to preserve the precious Tibetan cultural heritage. Its goal is to benefit the mental and physical well-being of society as well as the development of happiness and peace in the world. The Institute is a non-profit organization, and its activities are based upon the voluntary help of its members.

In 2006 the Nando Peretti Foundation awarded a grant to the Samantabhadra Institute to cover the costs of an urgent surgical procedure for the then 36-year-old Tibetan monk Tamding Tsering. The monk lived in Karnataka State, India, and had recently undergone an open-heart surgery at the Narayana Hrudayalaya Istitute of cardiac Sciences. He was suffering from a severe mitral stenosis, moderate mitral regurgitation, clacific mitral valve, aortic regurgitation, grade II. The surgical intervention, consisting in a double valve replacement, was needed at the earliest to prevent irreversible damage to the vital organs of his body. The NPF grant was crucial, in so far as the monk had no personal resources nor could he depend on the help of his family.