Dr. Yang has played an integral role in two Flying Eye Hospital programs. His first mission to Ulaanbatar, Mongolia in 2014 was the penultimate program to take place on our old DC-10 aircraft. There he joined fellow Canadian Volunteer Faculty members, Dr. Sherif El-Defrawy and Dr. Yasser Khan in providing training to hundreds of Mongolian eye care professionals.
Heroes of Orbis: Dr. Patrick Yang
Dr. Patrick Yang is a Vancouver-based ophthalmologist and an associate member of the Orbis Volunteer Faculty. We sat down with Dr. Yang to discuss what inspires him most about volunteering with Orbis and the pride he feels about Canada's contribution to Orbis's sight-saving work.
His second program was an extra special one. Dr. Yang was part of the team that went to Shenyang, China in July of 2016, the first project to take place on board our new MD-10 Flying Eye Hospital. What made this project even more special for Dr. Yang was that Shenyang was his ancestral home, a place he had never visited before.
Dr. Patrick Yang
Oculoplastic Surgeon & Ophthalmologist
The Flying Eye Hospital is a constant presence for eye care development throughout the world. It’s an important symbol of Orbis’s ongoing commitment to help those in need around the world. I’m extremely honoured and proud to be part of the program.
The sustainable impact of Orbis’s work in communities is what inspired Dr. Yang to begin volunteering his time for such a compelling cause. With the support of our incredible donors, and volunteers, Orbis works to fight avoidable blindness in under-resourced areas worldwide.
The most meaningful experience is being able to teach the local physicians and trainees, sharing techniques that will help patients for generations to come.
For Dr. Yang, 'the role Canadian doctors play in Orbis’s sight-saving efforts around the world is a source of pride'. Canadian eye care professionals make up around 20% of the Orbis Volunteer Faculty, the very first Medical Director on board the Flying Eye Hospital was from Vancouver and the top two doctors with the most volunteer missions (over 185 between them) are both Canadian.
Dr. Yang is no stranger to the impact your support has around the world. Speaking about the generous support from our Canadian donors he is moved, “my message is from the heart, I’ve been there, I’ve seen where the money goes, who it helps and what a big difference it makes in the world.”
