KEY POINTS:
Giving the gift of life to 17 Fijians in a marathon series of operations is among the most rewarding work of cardiac surgeon Parma Nand's career.
Mr Nand and a team of Kiwi volunteers completed 17 heart operations in a week.
The Fijian-born specialist said the conditions were trying but the joy of helping those in desperate need was immense.
"Most of these patients would have died in probably three to five years' time," said Mr Nand, chairman of charitable trust Friends of Fiji Heart Foundation, which raised more than $120,000 and donated supplies for the mission.
"I'm sure we would have given them another maybe 18 to 20 years."
He said the surgery was rare in Fiji and the patients were too poor to travel.
The story is set to screen on TV One tomorrow in an Asia Down Under documentary, The Heart of Giving.
"Generally, there's no cardiac surgery performed in Suva or in Fiji," said Mr Nand, who left his homeland in 1986.
"We were working with basic instruments and limited supplies and an intensive care unit that we set up ourselves."
Asia Down Under producer Melissa Lee was moved by the story of patient Shristi Shiwani.
Mrs Shiwani was admitted to hospital two years ago as a newlywed.
In her 20s, she was a good candidate to have her problematic heart valve repaired but could not afford it on her sweet-seller husband's wage.
The repair surgery will allow Mrs Shiwani to have children.
* The Heart of Giving, 8.30 tomorrow morning on TV One
