Working with Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, we led the initiative to donate a much needed fully-operational MRI machine worth AU$2 million to a primary healthcare clinic in India.
When the Royal Women’s Hospital had to relocate the MRI suite, it decided to install a new machine rather than relocating an existing one, which was still fully operational and had not reached the end of its life.
BBGI’s Director took the view that the machine, being functional and very expensive, should be relocated rather than prematurely scrapped, and began working with other parties to find a new home for it. In June 2023, an agreement was reached with a clinic in India, and GE Healthcare technicians began shutting the system down and deinstalling it.
Siemens, who had won the tender for the replacement, removed the old 11 tonnes machine. EverX, a specialist in supplying pre-owned radiology imaging equipment, assisted on the logistics with the clinic in India.
Thanks to the machine’s relocation, there is the potential to positively impact numerous lives in India and provide diagnostic abilities previously unavailable to the local communities. The project also minimised the environmental impact of scrapping the machine, with the huge amount of embedded energy required to manufacture a new one.
We are providing multiple positive environmental and social outcomes by donating a fully operational MRI machine, worth around AU$2 million, that is much needed by local communities in India that was previously unavailable. We are sharing our experience across BBGI to implement similar initiatives across our investment portfolio.
Luke Falla
BBGI Director
