“Heart Without Borders”: The Campaign to Implant Pacemakers for Free Returns

21 October, 2025

Patient recruitment will take place on October 21 and 22. Surgeries will be performed from the 27th to the 31st.

The National Safe Life Foundation, Project Pacer International, Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University (UAGRM), and Clínica de las Américas have launched the second edition of the “Heart Without Borders” campaign — an initiative aimed at implanting pacemakers for people with limited financial resources. This time, 50 patients from different regions of the country will benefit from the procedure, which will significantly improve their quality of life.

The medical campaign will take place from October 27 to 31 at Clínica de las Américas. Specialists from Project Pacer International, a Boston-based organization dedicated to providing modern cardiac therapies to low-income patients in developing countries, will travel to Bolivia for the effort. Their work is made possible through contributions from individuals and charitable organizations committed to global health.

Representing the president of the National Safe Life Foundation, José Luis Camacho Miserendino, Executive Director Julio César Caballero emphasized that this campaign “emerges as a response to an urgent and real need: equitable access to complex cardiac treatments. In Bolivia, a significant number of patients suffer from heart rhythm disorders that require pacemaker implantation to ensure a healthy and active life — especially in endemic areas with high rates of Chagas disease.”

Caballero also called on public, private, and academic institutions to join this collective effort, which represents not only medical progress but also a firm step toward a more supportive and equitable society. “Today we reaffirm our commitment to life, science, and social responsibility,” he stated during the press conference announcing the campaign’s launch.

For his part, Felipe Teles, Medical Director of Clínica de las Américas, said that “Heart Without Borders” represents “an opportunity to transform lives and reaffirm our commitment to the health and well-being of Bolivians. Each pacemaker means a new opportunity to live fully. Seeing our patients regain hope is the greatest recognition of our medical work and the value of solidarity.”

Meanwhile, Reinerio Vargas, Rector of UAGRM, pledged the university’s support for future humanitarian initiatives. “These types of projects have a single objective: to unite in the face of hardship so that, with the help of philanthropists from the United States, we can assist people who cannot afford a pacemaker — something that allows them to live longer and better. These are families who have suffered for years due to this condition, and today they are regaining hope,” he stated.

The “Heart Without Borders” campaign will be conducting patient intake on Tuesday, October 21, and Wednesday, October 22, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Faculty of Human Health Sciences at Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University. For more information or inquiries, please contact +591 77047522.