Operational Walk Ireland is an Irish-based charity whose mission is to perform hip and knee replacements for patients who would otherwise not have access to this life-changing surgery. The first independent Operation Walk Ireland mission took place in May of this year when we sent a second team back to the same hospital in Hanoi. Over 4 days we performed 64 joint replacement surgeries with our vietnamese colleagues and developed the educational aspects of the mission.

Where do donations go?
All team members are volunteers who pay for their own transportation and accommodation: 100% of your donations go toward medical supplies and equipment necessary for providing pre-assessment, joint replacement and postoperative rehabilitation in Vietnam.

Background on Vietnam
Vietnam is a country of 93 million people who have rapidly improved their prosperity in recent times. Over the last 20 years the percentage of the population classified as “in poverty” has fallen from 58% to 13% and the life expectancy is rising rapidly.

This creates a population with a rapidly-increasing demand for joint replacement. We estimate that as development proceeds, Vietnam will reach an annual demand of 260,000 joints per year.

Total joint replacement in Vietnam costs the equivalent of three years of average salary. Our mission would not be possible without the generous donation of implants by several firms. Operation Walk Ireland is at ground level working

Website- http://operationwalk.ie