BMJ readers raise almost £34 000 for Lifebox

The final tally from the BMJ’s winter appeal for the Lifebox Foundation is now available: in just a few short months, readers have donated an astonishing £33 792.03. Thanks to your generosity, Lifebox is sending out more than 211 pulse oximeters to operating theatres in countries from Cambodia to Sierra Leone.

“The generosity of BMJ readers around the world will help safeguard thousands of lives that are currently at risk from unsafe surgery,” said Lifebox chair and surgeon, Atul Gawande. “It has been a privilege to introduce you to our work over the last few months, and to hear from so many of you about ways we can work together to improve the quality and safety of surgery in low-resource settings. Thank you from all of us.”

Online at bmj.com this week (doi:10.1136/bmj.e807), Tony Falconer, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, explains how pulse oximetry could make a major contribution to safer obstetric care and reduce maternal mortality in Africa.

“Caesarean section is not a luxury. It’s the only safe way to give birth in many cases. In addition, pulse oximetry can help doctors in low income countries manage critically ill mothers with obstetric problems such as haemorrhage, high blood pressure and sepsis.”

Building on the success of the BMJ appeal, Lifebox is now going global. Next week the charity is launching the Make It Zero campaign to eliminate the global pulse oximetry gap, beginning with a two year initiative to provide 5000 pulse oximeters to operating rooms across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Please visit www.lifebox.org/makeitzero for more information. And thank you again.