The Chennai-based Y R Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education (YRG CARE) will soon set up a special caesarean centre at VHS Hospital for the HIV affected expectant mothers for delivering the child without being infected with the virus from the mother.

The unit will be set up at VHS Hospital campus in Taramani and would help in reducing the chances of the virus transferring from the mother to the baby during the process of the delivery. For the project, the centre has received Rs 11.5 lakh from SUN Foundation, which is celebrating the 73rd birth anniversary of the late Murasoli Maran.

The centre will constantly provide anti- retroviral therapy to the AIDS affected expectant mothers and it would do the caesarean operation to take out the baby to reduce the chances of contracting the deadly disease from the mothers to the newly born baby.

"The chances of the baby getting affected by the mothers' HIV virus are more in a normal delivery. Taking the baby out by means of a caesarean reduces this risk to a certain extent. That is why we decided to have this special caesarean theatre in our premises," said Malarmannan, advisor to YRG CARE.

He said that till date around 88 children were born without being affected with HIV virus by providing antiretroviral therapy in its unit. He added that the hospital is currently working with 20 beds exclusively for AIDS affected people.

Speaking about yet another project for the AIDS patients, Malarmannan said that plans are afoot to build a major hospital exclusively for the HIV affected patients and a total of Rs 64 lakh would be pooled into the project. The proposed site for the hospital is Pallikarnai in Chennai.