Antarctic Base Belgrano II (WAP ARG-Ø6) is the southernmost Argentine Station, on the southern coast of the Weddell Sea. Over there, the army did install a new Refuge (originally called Refugio Base Belgrano 2), of which WAP reported about on last December 28, 2023 (See: https://www.waponline.it/two-small-argentine-refuge-huts-in-antarctica/ )
Now, the Refugio Base Belgrano 2, located 7.3 km from the Base and near the snow landing strip, has been named in honor of “Dr. René Favaloro”. This mobile Refuge (77° 52’ 30” South, 34°37’45” West)will provide support in future operations under extreme conditions.
The new Dr. René Favaloro Refuge, installed in the area under responsibility of the Base Belgrano II, represents a significant milestone in the scientific and sovereign presence of Argentina on the white continent.
Named after Doctor René Favaloro, this state of the art shelter, located on a Nunatak, will not only operate as a logistical support point, but will also provide a safe and well-stocked shelter for up to 4 explorers. The installation of the Refuge involves a great effort on part of the base’s staff, the military personnel combine determination and dedication to carry out this mission, reflecting a deep sense of commitment to the Homeland and the desire to lead the way for future scientific expeditions in the region.
On next issue of the WAP -WADA Directory, Dr. René Favaloro Refuge will enter on the Argentina list as WAP ARG-NEW
Who was Dr. René Favaloro?
The greatest doctor in Argentine history, was Italian: René Favaloro invented the bypass while fighting against dictatorships.
Son of Italian immigrants, René grew up with his grandparents at home, learning Italian, Italian cuisine, Italian music, but above all learning the great manual skills that would accompany him in his medical career, thanks to his father, a carpenter, and his mother, a seamstress: “A good doctor must be a good carpenter.” his grandfather Girolamo would repeat to him. René studied and graduated with honors from the Colegio Nacional Universidad de La Plata. In 1962, one of his elderly university professors encouraged his transfer to the United States, to the Cleveland Clinic, still today one of the most renowned in the world for cardiac surgery. During his intense activity as a specialist, he continued his studies and refined the technique that would lead him to be, in 1967, the first heart surgeon in history to implant the coronary artery bypass, for which – among hundreds of other honors – he would receive a nomination for the Nobel Prize. In 1970, giving up offers of up to 2 million dollars a year to stay in the United States, he returned to Buenos Aires to realize his greatest dream: to create the Favaloro Foundation, a self-sufficient university clinic available to the people, still today the most renowned in South America.
Active member of the committees for the search for the desaparecidos, in aid and support of the families of the thousands of disappeared during the bloody dictatorship from 1976 to 1983, his philanthropy was put to the test by the political and economic climate of Argentina, which over the years ended up suffocating the Foundation between cuts in public and private funding, missed payments by organizations, unions, insurance companies and a growing economic depression in the country. On his knees due to debts that forced him to get rid of all his personal property, abandoned and betrayed by many friends, on July 29, 2000 he took his own life with a gunshot to the heart.