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KHBS, NW ArkansasUA To Sponsor Limb Drive For Haitian Amputees
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Doctors and aid workers fear the Haitian earthquake has created a generation of amputees. Many of these survivors are children, as roughly half of the country's 9.8 million people are younger than 21.
To help address this emerging crisis, students in the biological and agricultural engineering department at the University of Arkansas have helped organize the Northwest Arkansas Limb Drive for Haiti. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at the Pauline Whitaker Arena on Garland Avenue. The students and their teacher, Tom Costello, associate professor of biological engineering, are partnering with Physicians for Peace, an international medical mission based in Virginia, and Hanger Orthopedic Group to collect used prostheses, otherwise known as artificial limbs. Similar events, some of which also collect crutches, canes, walkers and wheelchairs, are being held in communities across the United States.
Costello and his biological-engineering students have worked with Physicians for Peace since 2006. Several teams of students in his senior design course have designed low-cost prosthetics that can be manufactured in developing countries. Students have twice visited a prosthetic clinic in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, to get feedback on their designs.
"It is difficult to measure the full extent of this tragedy, but some aid workers have estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 people have lost an arm or leg in the aftermath of the earthquake," Costello said. "Those who have lost a leg will be completely immobile until they receive crutches or a wheelchair. Eventually, patients who are fitted with an artificial limb will be taught to walk and maybe even run again."
In addition to taking prostheses to the Pauline Whitaker Arena on March 6, donors can take used limbs to any Hanger office, and Hanger will ship them to Physicians for Peace in Haiti. Local communities are encouraged to promote limb collection efforts.
Northwest Arkansas residents who are unable to drop off limb donations at the arena on March 6 may call to arrange a pickup by a student volunteer. For more information, visit LimbDrive.org or call the department of biological and agricultural engineering at 479-575-2351. Only donations of orthopedic rehabilitation equipment and devices will be accepted. The event organizers ask donors not to bring clothing, food or other relief supplies.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Doctors and aid workers fear the Haitian earthquake has created a generation of amputees. Many of these survivors are children, as roughly half of the country's 9.8 million people are younger than 21.
To help address this emerging crisis, students in the biological and agricultural engineering department at the University of Arkansas have helped organize the Northwest Arkansas Limb Drive for Haiti. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at the Pauline Whitaker Arena on Garland Avenue. The students and their teacher, Tom Costello, associate professor of biological engineering, are partnering with Physicians for Peace, an international medical mission based in Virginia, and Hanger Orthopedic Group to collect used prostheses, otherwise known as artificial limbs. Similar events, some of which also collect crutches, canes, walkers and wheelchairs, are being held in communities across the United States.
Costello and his biological-engineering students have worked with Physicians for Peace since 2006. Several teams of students in his senior design course have designed low-cost prosthetics that can be manufactured in developing countries. Students have twice visited a prosthetic clinic in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, to get feedback on their designs.
"It is difficult to measure the full extent of this tragedy, but some aid workers have estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 people have lost an arm or leg in the aftermath of the earthquake," Costello said. "Those who have lost a leg will be completely immobile until they receive crutches or a wheelchair. Eventually, patients who are fitted with an artificial limb will be taught to walk and maybe even run again."
In addition to taking prostheses to the Pauline Whitaker Arena on March 6, donors can take used limbs to any Hanger office, and Hanger will ship them to Physicians for Peace in Haiti. Local communities are encouraged to promote limb collection efforts.
Northwest Arkansas residents who are unable to drop off limb donations at the arena on March 6 may call to arrange a pickup by a student volunteer. For more information, visit LimbDrive.org or call the department of biological and agricultural engineering at 479-575-2351. Only donations of orthopedic rehabilitation equipment and devices will be accepted. The event organizers ask donors not to bring clothing, food or other relief supplies.
