Donations 2021

As you know COVID has changed the world we live in, especially for charities who struggle to raise funds at the best of times and even more so now. 

Despite this there have been many generous people who have made a donation to the Victor Chang Foundation this year – your gifts are so very much appreciated, and you are the people who help us continue my father’s work so thank you.

My father, Victor Chang, created this grant-making Foundation in 1984 to educate and innovate in the space of cardiac surgery and cardiology and we need donations to continue his work. Tax time is around the corner and this is an ideal time to consider making a donation to his Foundation.

Donations over the past year have enabled our inaugural surgical fellow, Dr Jiang, to learn and practice heart and lung transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and mini-invasive cardiac surgery from the world-class team led by Dr Paul Jansz.

Apart from training more cardiac surgeons throughout Asia the Victor Chang Foundation needs funds to help develop a total, implantable, artificial heart. This is a project that requires a massive amount of work and funds and we are extremely excited to be involved.

We'd love you to be involved too and a donation from you will help achieve this. Any donation, large or small will move us closer to our goal. Thank you.

Regards, Vanessa Chang
CEO, Victor Chang Foundation

Victor Chang joins Sydney's ferry fleet

Travellers on Sydney Harbour now have the opportunity learn about the work of the late Dr Victor Chang AC on the new Inner Harbour ferry named in his honour. Victor Chang’s name was chosen by the public as part of the Name Your Ferry competition. Speaking on behalf of her family, his daughter Vanessa Chang said this accolade would help celebrate her father 26 years after his passing.  “We feel deeply honoured and touched by this special tribute and we would like to thank those who voted for him to be amongst such esteemed Australians.”

Read more here

The Asian Executive features Dr Chang’s work

On a clear, sunny day in March 1986, the Queen of England presented a group of proud Australians with an Order of Australia. Some received awards for bravery, some for literature or service to the community. Dr Chang was awarded a Companion to the Order of Australia (AC) for ‘service to international relations between Australia and China and to medical science’. Dr Chang, with his wife and daughter, travelled to Canberra to watch him accept the award; it was one of many he would be presented with in his lifetime, but this one was different because it acknowledged his contribution to Australia–China relations and his unofficial role as Australia’s medical ambassador to Asia.

Read more on Asian Executive, or find the full article here.

Dr Alasdair Watson received a training and innovation grant from the Victor Chang Foundation in 2015/2016

He said:

 “My grant allowed me to undertake post-fellowship training at St Paul’s Hospital / University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada – considered to be the world’s leading institution  for transcatheter heart valve implantation (TAVI),* as well as heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support, and laser lead extraction. The overseas training I received has been invaluable, enabling me to introduce the use of a miniature heart pump (Impella) used to treat patients with acute heart failure. I have also been able to establish new protocols for the intensive care management of patients in the early post-heart transplant period, as well as establishing, for the first time, a program of laser extraction of failed or infected pacemaker and defibrillator leads at St Vincent’s Hospital.”

Surgical Fellow awarded to Dr Wenjian Jiang

The inaugural Victor Chang Foundation Surgical Fellow (2019–2021) has been awarded to Dr Wenjian Jiang from Beijing, China, who completed his training in cardiovascular surgery at one of Beijing’s top hospitals for vascular care. He received his PhD at Capital Medical University and was awarded the Endeavour Research Fellowship and studied at the Centre of Heart Research, Sydney University as a joint PhD student. In 2017, he returned to the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Beijing Anzhen Hospital as a consultant. 

Dr Jiang said “It is my great honour to be awarded as the inaugural Victor Chang Foundation Surgical Fellow. Being greatly inspired by the legendary cardiac surgeon Dr Victor Chang, I came to the forefront of cardiac surgery St Vincent’s Hospital from China in August 2019. At the moment, I am learning heart and lung transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and mini-invasive cardiac surgery from the world-class team directed by Dr Paul Jansz. I hope my experience will reignite the clinical and academic exchange between SVH and my home hospital.”