Children born with cleft lip and cleft palate receive free surgeries

7 September 2016, Iselin, NJ – Ansell, a global leader in protection solutions, is pleased to announce its partnership with Operation Smile to help children born with either a cleft palate or cleft lip receive free cleft surgeries. Operation Smile is one of the largest volunteer-based medical charities providing free cleft surgeries in low-and-middle income countries. Ansell’s donation of 4,690 boxes of nitrile examination gloves and 700 sterile marking pens to Operation Smile will support the charity’s yearly product needs for international medical missions.

Since 1982, Operation Smile has improved the health and lives of children worldwide through surgical care, while adhering to the highest standards of care and safety. Operation Smile performed more than 17,000 free cleft surgeries last year with the help of more than 3,000 medical professional volunteers. Every three minutes, a child is born with a cleft lip or cleft palate - about one in 500-750 births. Without safe surgical care, babies with cleft lip or cleft palate can develop serious health issues such as difficulty with eating and speaking.

“As an operating room nurse, I witnessed the dramatic difference surgical intervention can make for those born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities,” said Patty Taylor RN, BA, Vice President Professional Education and Clinical Affairs at Ansell. “As a leader in protection solutions, we’re pleased to be a part of the global cause and improving the lives of children all over the world.”

“All children deserve exceptional surgical care regardless of where they live or what little money their family has,” said Lindsay Tomberg, Director of Global Philanthropy at Operation Smile. “Our partnership with Ansell allows Operation Smile to continue providing free, safe and effective surgical care. Thanks to their generous donation of medical gloves and sterile marking pens, we are able to improve the lives and health of children worldwide.”

For more information about Operation Smile, visit http://www.operationsmile.org/

ENDS