COLUMBIA, Md.– Ambu Inc., the world leader in single-use endoscopy, marked the 65th birthday of its iconic invention, the Ambu® BagTM, today by donating 650 of the lifesaving devices to international charity Mercy Ships, which is known around the globe for bringing state-of-the-art healthcare to the developing world on its hospital ships.
The Ambu Bags were presented to Jackie Abbott, Corporate Development Officer of Mercy Ships, in a virtual ceremony that included members of Ambu’s team that operates from its U.S. headquarters in Columbia, Maryland.
“It is our honor to deliver Ambu Bags to Mercy Ships, which has a rich history of transforming the lives of people around the world who do not have access to healthcare,” said Allan Jensen, Vice President of Sales, Anesthesia at Ambu. “Like Mercy Ships the Ambu Bag has been saving lives for decades, often providing critically injured patients a second chance at life.”
The Ambu Bag was invented in Denmark by Dr. Holger Hesse, Ambu’s founder, and anesthesiologist Dr. Henning Ruben. Since its debut in 1956, the Ambu Bag has come to define the self-inflating manual resuscitation instrument that is used around the world by hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, urgent care centers, and first responders. The iconic device is credited with helping more than 45 million people breathe in the past 10 years alone. In late 2021, Ambu marked the Ambu Bag’s milestone 65th anniversary and will continue the celebration into 2022.
Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, capacity building and sustainable development to those without access in the developing world. The Ambu Bags will be delivered to the Africa Mercy® and the newly built Global Mercy®, the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship.
“We thank Ambu for the generous donation of the Ambu bags. For the past 65 years, Ambu has made a commitment to deliver innovative quality products that have a positive impact on patient care and the work of healthcare professionals. Mercy Ships looks forward to an ongoing relationship with Ambu and using the Ambu bags when our ships are in field service in Africa,” said Christie VanWinkle, Medical Procurement Manager at Mercy Ships.
The Africa Mercy was launched in 2007 and has five operating theatres, recovery, intensive care, and low dependency wards totaling 80 patient beds. The Global Mercy, the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, has six operating rooms, 200 beds, and training spaces including a simulation lab which will simulate local conditions and limitations in order to teach best practices in low resource environments.
