Surgery by SMS Saves Boy's Life in the Congo

When a British surgeon volunteering in the Democratic Republic of Congo faced a daunting and complicated surgical amputation of a 16 year old boy, which he had never before performed, he texted his colleague in London for "How-To" help.

Dr. David Nott, a vascular surgeon, explained the boy's arm had been ripped off and was dangerously infected. He knew the boy would die within days if he did not have a forequarter amputation to remove his collar bone and shoulder blade.

Nott's collegue sent step-by-step text message instructions to successfully complete the surgery, which is only performed in the U.K. a handful of times per year.

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Text 2HELP Campaign Deemed Most Successful Text Funraiser

According to sponsors of the Text 2Help SMS campaign, wireless subscribers pledged nearly $200,000 to the American Red Cross through Text 2HELP(TM) Program, making it the wireless industry's most successful charitable, non-profit mobile text fundraiser in the history of such endeavors.

Wireless carriers participating in the program include AT&T, Alltel, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless.

The Text 2HELP program was initially created to aid Hurricane Katrina relief assistance, and is initiated whenever a disaster occurs and a Red Cross assessment determines its relief efforts will require a substantial level of support. During the Red Cross response to disasters, including the recent hurricanes, the Text 2HELP program was promoted across many channels to help provide donors with an easy way to support those in need.

Text 2HELP donations, which go to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to the victims of thousands of disasters across the country. Subscribers of participating wireless carriers can donate $5 up to five times simply by texting "GIVE" to 24357 (2HELP). The charges for these donations appear on the subscriber's monthly bill, or are debited from prepaid account balances. Standard text messaging rates may apply.

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