Tissa De Silva Trust donates laboratory equipment to the National Hospital Colombo

The Tissa De Silva Trust recently made a generous donation of sophisticated laboratory equipment valued at Rs. 13 million required to function a state of the art PCR laboratory to the National Hospital of Colombo (NHSL).

The Tissa De Silva Trust was initiated in 1993 and works towards sponsoring the education of under privileged children, providing infrastructure to schools, aiding improvements to rural accessibility, and funding healthcare. Mr. Tissa De Silva left his estate for charity, particularly to improve the lives of the poor and marginalized sections of society, and is the youngest son of philanthropists Sir Ernest De Silva and Lady Evadne De Silva, the trust said in a media release.

Initial discussions between the board of trustees and Senior Consultant Cardiologist of the National Hospital Dr. Nimali Fernando were centered around the donation of equipment used by the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at NHSL Colombo. However, given the escalating situation in the country surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, both parties came to an agreement that the need of the hour is this much needed PCR laboratory to treat patients safely, as well as to provide a safe environment for health care workers. Therefore, a decision was made to donate essential equipment for this purpose. Furthermore, the resources would also be used in the testing process of other viruses such as dengue and influenza where annual cases in Sri Lanka remains high, it said. 

The laboratory was officially declared open on  January 12 in a ribbon cutting ceremony by Deputy Director General Health Services of the National Hospital Dr. Kumara Wickremasinghe and Oshan Senanayake of the Tissa De Silva Trust, followed by the plaque being unveiled by Dhevan Peiris of the Tissa De Silva Trust. Documents with details pertaining to the donation were also handed over to the Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi at the Ministry of Health premises.

In appreciation of the efforts, Dr. Nimali Fernando states, “We are thankful to the Tissa De Silva Trust for such a generous and timely donation. In trying times like these, the hospital requires any and all support that can be extended towards our operations and the new equipment will greatly assist in the efficient treatment of our patients.”

Speaking on the matter, Suranjan Perera of the board of trustees said, “We at the Trust are grateful that we are able to make a valuable donation in these challenging and uncertain times. The donation of the lab furthers Mr. Tissa De Silva’s goal of improving the lives of the less fortunate and is in line with the Trust’s future focus. We hope that the donation will prove to be useful for the operations of the National Hospital and contribute towards overcoming this pandemic.”

Above: Handing over documents pertaining to the donation.