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The Aga Khan Hospital in Mombasa has become the first health institution in the Aga Khan network in East Africa to perform open heart surgery.
A 43-year-old woman and a 20 year-old man underwent the operation free of charge on Saturday.

The development follows the acquisition of a Sh60 million heart - lung machine which was unveiled at the hospital yesterday.

The machine was donated by the Medical and Educational Aid to Kenya Foundation.

This brings to four the number of hospitals in Kenya where open-heart surgery can be performed. Others are Mater, Nairobi and Kenyatta hospitals, all in Nairobi.

The director of the foundation, Dr Mike Belliere, said it was the hospital's professionalism and high quality standards that made the foundation to provide the machine.

The hospital's chief executive, Mr Ian Cripwell, said the new machine was a milestone for the hospital in medical services delivery.

'This is a milestone to the hospital and the community at large since people would be able to get open heart surgery without traveling far seeking the service,' Mr Cripwell said.

The hospital's patient services director, Mr Zubeida Dadani, said that, through foundation, a team of surgeons from Guy's Hospital in the UK would be visiting the hospital twice a year.