

Operation Smile medical volunteers provided 193 comprehensive medical evaluations, which determine if a patient is healthy enough to safely receive surgery. Most of this mission’s patients, 140, were identified at pre-screening camps conducted by Operation Smile across the West Bengal region in the months leading up to the mission. A critical tool for recruiting patients, the camps are effective at determining the best candidates for surgery at upcoming medical missions while also allowing Operation Smile to earn the trust of those potential patients and their families. “Whatever we can do for these patients, we do it,” said Sumit Nandi, Operation Smile India’s patient coordinator who leads the camps alongside programme coordinator Bhaskar Mukherjee and a team of volunteers. “We will not desert them and we make sure they know that.”








