On September 24, a ceremony for the Kyrgyzstan leg of the C909 Flying Hospital for Eye & ENT Health charitable mission was held at Manas International Airport in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. This marks the mission’s second stop in Central Asia, following the Kazakhstan leg in July, jointly carried out by the Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University (EENT) and the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC).
Since completing its inaugural demonstration flight in Shihezi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in September 2025, the flying hospital has conducted cross-border charitable medical missions in Vientiane, Laos (February 2026) and Almaty, Kazakhstan (July 2026).
At the ceremony, the Chinese side donated eye and ENT diagnostic and surgical equipment and consumables worth 1.4 million yuan to the Kyrgyz side. Chinese and foreign guests boarded the aircraft for a close-up look at its airborne operating room meeting the highest Class I cleanliness standard, as well as the complete suite of domestically developed intelligent diagnostic and treatment devices.
Mission expected to deliver over 170 charitable surgeries
On the same day, the flying hospital successfully performed its first ENT surgery aboard the aircraft. With surgical services expanding from ophthalmology to otorhinolaryngology, the mission lays the foundation for extending airborne operating capabilities to more specialty areas.
From September 6 to 30, the charitable mission, using the flying hospital as a hub, links up with the Clinical Hospital under the Presidential Administration of Kyrgyzstan (the “Presidential Hospital”) to carry out a series of charitable consultations, academic support and medical cooperation activities. The mission is expected to serve more than 2,000 local patients and perform over 170 charitable surgeries — with a focus on cataract vision-restoration surgery, alongside other eye and ENT procedures — relieving suffering for local patients with eye, ear, nose and throat conditions and advancing substantive China-Kyrgyzstan health cooperation through concrete action.
“Chinese doctors have come to the Presidential Hospital”
“My eyes have been bothering me for years. Six years ago, a Chinese medical team operated on one of my eyes, and the result was excellent. This time, I want to have the other one done too,” said an elderly woman in the waiting area of the Presidential Hospital in Bishkek, expressing her anticipation of the Chinese doctors and her trust in the quality of Chinese medical care.
Word that Chinese doctors had arrived at the Presidential Hospital spread quickly. From September 12 onward, long queues formed daily at the medical team's outpatient clinics — from 86 patients on the first day to more than 200 in a single day by the third day. Working tirelessly, the doctors screened and examined every patient who came.
According to statistics, as of September 24, the mission had provided 1,712 person-times of diagnosis and treatment and completed 139 charitable surgeries, including 111 cataract operations — the vast majority of them highly complex anterior segment surgeries.
Rooting quality medical capacity in the host country
Alongside charitable consultations and surgeries, the medical team entered local hospitals to deliver lectures and on-site surgical training for Kyrgyz medical staff, complemented by hands-on training on Chinese-made medical equipment — leaving behind mature clinical techniques, standardized protocols and equipment operation know-how to help build local eye and ENT specialty capacity and create a specialist medical team that “stays behind” after the mission departs.
During the mission, the China-Kyrgyzstan Digital Intelligence Remote Consultation and Training Center will also be inaugurated. Supported by 5G communication technology, the two sides will jointly conduct cross-border multidisciplinary team (MDT) remote consultations and academic exchanges, making case discussions, real-time consultations and online teaching routine, and exploring a new model of cross-border specialty telemedicine for eye and ENT care.
It is reported that the Laos leg of the mission provided 1,723 person-times of medical services and completed 49 charitable surgeries, while the Kazakhstan leg saw cooperation agreements signed with local universities and medical institutions and the joint launch of the Central Asia Ophthalmic Medical Alliance of the Flying Hospital.
(END)
Source:Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University
Writer: WANG Mengqi
Editor: LI Yijie
