A woman who started out with a desire to help with a child’s leukemia battle ended up leading a grassroots movement and opening a pediatric oncology hospital in her home country.
Oana Gheorghiu, co-founder of Give Life, told EpochTV’s “Bay Area Innovators” program about her journey of building Romania’s first pediatric oncology hospital entirely through private donations.
In 2009, an 18-year-old boy was dying of leukemia because the Romanian state couldn’t provide for his treatment. She and her friend Carmen Uscatu, who would later become a co-founder, fought for him.
“We realized how difficult it is in Romania for families with children with cancer and for families with patients … and we decided to try to do something here in Romania to build infrastructure,” she said….