GENEVA, IL. – September 8, 2008. The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) – the world’s leading medical authority on hair loss and hair restoration – is hopeful that a new collaboration with the Hair Foundation will raise additional funds to cover the expenses of free hair restoration surgery it offers patients through the ISHRS’s Operation Restore pro-bono program.
Designed to match prospective hair restoration patients suffering from hair loss as a result of an accident, trauma or disease with a physician willing to help people who lack the resources to obtain treatment on their own, Operation Restore has provided more than $100,000 worth of free hair restoration surgery and expenses for more than a dozen patients suffering from hair loss due to these circumstances since the program began in 2004.
“Through this exciting new collaborative effort with the Hair Foundation, we hope that more people with hair loss can be helped through Operation Restore,” said Victoria Ceh, MPA, executive director of the ISHRS. “We are grateful for the Hair Foundation’s commitment to Operation Restore.”
Founded in 2005, the Hair Foundation is a non-profit foundation devoted to promoting “hair health” by educating the public about options for treatment and maintenance of healthy hair. Since its inception, the Hair Foundation has focused on establishing a fund dedicated to education and outreach projects, collecting and distributing information and materials on hair loss, hair care, and treatments, and becoming the first organization to focus on the issues of healthy hair in a non-commercial, objective manner.
“Operation Restore is an ideal match for the Hair Foundation, as its mission in many ways mirrors our guiding principle in helping patients achieve optimal hair health,” said Jessica Blomquist, executive director of the Hair Foundation. “Through the generosity of our individual and corporate donors, we can help Operation Restore provide hair transplants to more patients who otherwise would not have had the chance to experience the tremendous boost in their overall well-being that having their hair restored can create.”
Patients suffering from hair loss due to disease or trauma and cannot afford hair restoration surgery are encouraged to apply to the ISHRS’s Operation Restore program. Applications are available through the ISHRS Web site – www.ishrs.org – and are reviewed by the Pro Bono Committee of the ISHRS. Selected patients are matched with an ISHRS physician volunteer and every effort is made to match patients with physicians in their geographic area. In cases where travel is necessary, the program covers these expenses for the patient.
About ISHRS
Founded in 1993, the ISHRS is a non-profit medical association dedicated to the advancement of the art and science of hair restoration. With a membership of over 750 physicians worldwide, the ISHRS provides continuing medical education to physicians specializing in hair loss and restoration surgery and serves as a resource for the public on the latest medical and surgical hair restoration treatments for hair loss. For more information and to locate a physician, visit www.ishrs.org.