More than 101,000 Chinese cleft lip and palate patients have received free surgery provided by a charity project over the past eight years, a charity official said on Thursday.

Free surgery provided by a charity project has been received by more that 101,000 Chinese cleft lip and palate patients over the past eight years, a charity official said on Thursday.

The treatment project was jointly initiated by the China Charity Foundation (CCF) and US-based charity "Smile Train" in 1999. It has assisted impoverished patients under 40 in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

"It's one of the largest charity projects in China," said Peng Yu, vice president of the CCF, explaining that 151 hospitals across the country performed the plastic surgery free of charge.

Victoria Z. Moy, managing director of the "Smile Train" China branch said "Smile Train" had invested about US$ 35 million in the project in China and funded the training of more than 4,000 Chinese doctors over the past eight years.

Urban and rural patients can apply for the free surgery at the nearest appointed local hospital with certification from local governments. It also allows rural migrant worker patients to receive treatment in cities instead of going back to their hometowns.

Harelips, which are often associated with cleft palates, are a common congenital malformation caused by hereditary and environmental factors.

China has 2.4 million children with cleft palates and about 25,000 babies are born with the ailment each year, government statistics show. Many children from poor families miss the best time for surgery -- 10 days to three months after birth. The operation takes just 45 minutes.

In Beijing plastic surgery for a cleft lip costs 6,000 yuan (US$ 750) and the treatment for a baby with both cleft lip and palate can cost 20,000 to 30,000 yuan (US$ 2,500 to 3,750).

Peng said the appointed hospitals had the capacity to treat 50,000 cleft palate patients each year but only 20,000 came to hospital annually. "The CCF must promote the free treatment to give poor patients operation opportunities," said Peng.

The condition was highlighted earlier this year when Chinese pop diva Faye Wong gave birth to a baby daughter with a cleft lip. Later Wong took her daughter to the US for plastic surgery.

Wong set up a foundation last month in collaboration with the Red Cross Society of China to help children under 14 with the problem. 

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2006)