Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

THE Shenzhen Mammoth Public Welfare Foundation has donated a batch of key laboratory equipment produced by BGI Group, also headquartered in Shenzhen, to Sinai Health, a key center for the COVID-19 testing in Ontario, Canada, to help increase its detection capability.

The two parties held online ceremonies simultaneously Wednesday for the donation, according to BGI.

The testing equipment, which with automated systems can reduce manual processing time, is expected to raise Sinai Health’s testing ability by more than 1,000 to 2,000 samples per day.

“I would like to thank the Mammoth Foundation and BGI Group for contributing to Canada’s COVID-19 testing capability at this critical time through this generous donation of laboratory equipment to the Sinai Health System of Toronto,” Dominic Barton, Canada’s ambassador to China, said at the ceremony.

Louis de Melo, CEO of Sinai Health Foundation, said that they are grateful for the ongoing partnership and generosity of Mammoth Foundation and BGI Group, adding that “this equipment will further enable Sinai Health to support testing in the Province of Ontario.”

“We are contributing support for testing laboratories to maximize early and accurate detection among large groups of people, so those who are not infected can have peace of mind and those who are infected can get timely treatment,” said Wang Shi, executive director of the Mammoth Foundation.

Wang Jian, co-founder and chairman of BGI Group, said that he has been inspired by Henry Norman Bethune ever since he was a medical student 40 years ago.

Bethune is from Ontario and brought modern medical care to China during wartime.

Wang suggested that renaming the virus testing center of Sinai Health with donated testing equipment as Bethune Huo-Yan (Fire Eye) Lab, which was accepted.

BGI’s Huo-Yan Lab, or Fire Eye Laboratory, has been built in the United Arab Emirates, Brunei, Serbia and Australia.

Mammoth, a nonprofit philanthropic organization based in Shenzhen, has donated testing kits to over 20 countries including Japan, Peru, Angola, the Philippines and South Africa.

The foundation was initiated by BGI Group, Vanke Group and Songhe Venture Capital. It is the first foundation in China to promote gene technology for the benefit of people’s livelihood. The main business is to assist medical treatment, popular science education and cross-border communication.