Costs
What makes the cost so special is that all people employed by the DHATA Foundation for the eye-camp perform their work non-profit. The only beneficiaries are the patients that are receiving free care. The majority of the donations are put towards paying for the medical supplies, medical skill and equipment while other funds are used for food and transportation for patients and volunteers.
The large majority of surgeries performed at the eye-camp are lens replacements for cataracts. Figure 1 gives a cost comparison of performing a surgery via the Ruby Nelson Memorial Hospital physicians or in a private clinic.
Deol Hospital is the local care facility in Mullanpur, Punjab. The Hospital, founded by Dr. Gurmail Singh Deol (also the founder of Guru Nanak Charitable Trust) and currently owned by his son Dr. Amanpreet Singh Deol, generously provides the operating rooms required by the Ruby Nelson Memorial Hospital physicians to perform the surgeries.
By working with like minded people we are able to reduce the cost of each surgery by a factor of 10 (284.61 CDN); this enables us to help 10 times the amount of people.
Patients requiring surgeries that cannot be performed at the eye-camp but can be performed at the Ruby Nelson Memorial Hospital have their surgical and transportation costs covered. The surgeries performed on these patients vary in price; however, they are performed by the physicians at cost; this reduces the total fee of the surgery by a factor of 10.
*Costs are in within 5-10% of those listed. Costs vary with each patient as the complexity of the surgeries vary.
**Currency conversion taken from the Bank of Canada (September 24, 2024).
"I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver." - Maya Angelou