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01 August 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Maryke Venter
UFS No student Hungry concert
Attending the first Winter Warmer Indoor Concert, hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences, were, from the left: Prof Hanneke Brits, Dorah Klaas from UFS Institutional Advancement, Dr Nicholas Pearce, and Mantwa Makhakhe, Senior Financial Planner and Director at Sanlam.

“Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right
Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right!”

An extract from the lyrics of Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds, performed by Dr Nicholas Pearce, Head of the Department of Surgery at the University of the Free State (UFS), and Prof Hanneke Brits, Associate Professor in the UFS Department of Family Medicine, singing along with the staff and students from the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences and the audience. This performance was one of the highlights during the first Winter Warmer Picnic Concert presented by the Faculty of Health Sciences. 

The faculty, besides displaying the talent of its medical students, the Free State Youth Wind Ensemble, the UFS Choir, and nationally renowned Lucy Sehloho, aimed to create a fun evening for staff, students, and the Bloemfontein community in order to raise awareness for hungry students. 

About students for students

It is a function about students for students, remarked Prof Prakash Naidoo, Vice-Rector: Operations, who opened the event. According to him, millions of people worldwide go hungry every day. “At the UFS, there are also many students who are not able to afford basic food stuffs. Often, essentials are not covered by student bursaries, leaving students hungry and struggling to perform at the academic level expected,” he said. 

To enter the Callie Human Centre on the Bloemfontein Campus where the concert was hosted, members of the audience could donate non-perishable food, sanitary items, or blankets. The 800 food parcels collected at the event will be distributed by the No Student Hungry programme

Besides students, staff members and their families who attended the concert and donated towards the NSH, the Life Rosepark Hospital and Sanlam also made financial contributions towards the programme. 

Community coming together for a good cause

The idea to host the concert and to see lecturers in the faculty perform, stemmed from the CANSA shavathon held earlier this year when more than R10 000 was raised for people suffering from cancer and other related illnesses. Dr Pearce indicated that, should students reach the R10 000 mark, he and Prof Brits would perform Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds. The original idea of one performance evolved into a two-hour concert, seeing members of the Bloemfontein community coming together for a good cause. 

“Due to your contribution, many students will not go hungry,” said Dr Pearce, thanking everyone who attended the concert and donated to the NSH programme.

• Should you also like to make a difference in someone’s life and make a cash donation to the No Student Hungry programme, please scan the QR code and follow the instructions. Your contribution can go a long way in making a difference in someone’s life. 

News Archive

Heart-valve studies receive international recognition
2017-07-11

 Description: Heart-valve studies  Tags: Heart-valve studies  

Prof Francis Smit, Head of the Department of
Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UFS, and Manager of the
Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre, with
Kyle Davis, Mechanical Engineer at the centre.

Photo: Rulanzen Martin

Three heart-valve studies which have been developed at the Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre at the School of Medicine at the University of the Free State (UFS) were recently presented in Monte Carlo at the conference of the prestigious global Heart Valve Society (HVS).

These studies are all headed by Prof Francis Smit, Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UFS, and Manager of the Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre.
Prof Smit says the HVS is a combination of the former heart-valve societies of Europe and the US. “Studies on heart-valve disease, heart-valve-related products and operations, as well as the design and development of new valves were presented. There are both clinical and development divisions.

He says the study in which the hemodynamics of their redesigned mechanical poppet valve was compared to a commercial bi-leaflet mechanical heart valve, was named as the best poster presentation in the experimental valve development and numerical flow dynamics division. The study, which was presented by Kyle Davis, mechanical engineer at the centre, competed against some of the best heart-valve research units in the world.

The redesigned valve, based on the 1960s Cape Town poppet valve, has the potential to provide a low-cost solution for mechanical heart-valve replacement. It is possible to produce the titanium ring with 3-D printers and is, together with the silicon poppet valve, extremely inexpensive compared to current mechanical valve-manufacturing processes.
The advantages of this valve over current mechanical valves is that, due to the effective and laminar flow characteristics, as well as the simple locking mechanisms, there is a reduced chance of valve thrombosis, and the need for anti-clotting drugs is therefore limited.

It was also confirmed that the new valve more than meets the published FDA (Federal Drug Agency) requirements, which determine the minimum standards of valves for human use in the US.

The redesigned valve also has a very low platelet activation impact, which is responsible for platelet thrombosis and leads to valve thrombosis or strokes. This valve is another heart-valve project by the centre, which is also in the process of evaluating a tri-leaflet polyurethane valve developed by them.


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