A CHARITY is to donate a potentially life-saving defibrillator to every island high school and football club.
Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation was prompted to make the generous £31,500 donation following the high profile cases of Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba, 24, who collapsed with a heart attack during an FA Cup quarter final against Tottenham last month and the tragic death of Italian player Piermario Morosini, 25, who suffered a fatal cardiac arrest during a Serie B game on April 14.
An order was placed on Friday for 35 Zoll AED Plus defibrillators, at a cost of £900 each.
They are expected to be delivered early next week and during the next couple of weeks they will be donated to each of the island’s 26 football clubs and every high school. One will also be donated to the Isle of Man Football Association for use at the Bowl in Douglas.
The charity’s chairman Paul Healey, 34, said: ‘These defibrillators will undoubtedly save lives. Each week in the UK 12 young people die from an undiagnosed heart condition. As a charity we hear this sort of thing week in, week out but the collapse of Muamba and the death of the Italian footballer has brought it to the forefront of everyone’s mind.’
Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation was set up following the death of talented young Manx footballer Craig Lunt from an undiagnosed heart defect in April 2005 at the age of just 25.
It funds two heart screening sessions a year for island residents aged between 14 and 35 to detect any abnormalities and prevent Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS).
Paul, who was Craig Lunt’s best friend, said: ‘These machines are high tech and easy to use. You don’t have to be qualified to use them. The defibrillators actually talk you through the process so anyone with the slightest bit of knowledge will be able to use them.
‘We’ve already saved lives with the screening sessions we’ve organised on the island and we want to make sure that every football club and every high school has at least the possibility of saving someone’s life.’
And Paul said the charity was not stopping with football clubs and was considering future further donations of defibrillators to the island’s rugby and cricket clubs and the Cycling Association.
Individuals and groups around the island hold fundraising events for Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation, but the charity’s main fundraiser is its annual sportsmen’s dinner, the next one of which will be held at the Palace Hotel in Douglas on May 11, when the guest speaker will be Anfield legend Phil Thompson, with tickets priced at £50, which are available from Paul on 460918.
The next heart screening sessions will be at the Sefton Hotel in Douglas on November 24 and 25. You can book a screening closer to the time via {http://www.craigsheartstrongfoundation.co.uk|www.craigsheartstrongfoundation.co.uk}.
Fabrice Muamba has made a miraculous recovery since he collapsed on the pitch on March 17.