Single-use endoscopy developer Ambu Inc. recognized the birthday of its flagship self-inflating manual resuscitation instrument, the Ambu Bag, by donating 650 of the medical device to international charity Mercy Ships.

The Ambu Bag, which was created 65 years ago, was invented in Denmark by Ambu’s founder Dr. Holger Hesse and anesthesiologist Dr. Henning Ruben. Since its debut in 1956, the Ambu Bag is used around the world by hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, urgent care centers, and first responders. The Mercy Ships that are being used in part of the celebration deliver state-of-the-art healthcare equipment to the developing world.

The Ambu Bags were presented to Jackie Abbott, corporate development officer of Mercy Ships, in a virtual ceremony that included members of Ambu’s team that operates from its U.S. headquarters in Columbia, Maryland.

“It is our honor to deliver Ambu Bags to Mercy Ships, which has a rich history of transforming the lives of people around the world who do not have access to healthcare,” says Allan Jensen, VP of sales, Anesthesia at Ambu. “Like Mercy Ships the Ambu Bag has been saving lives for decades, often providing critically injured patients a second chance at life.”

Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, capacity building and sustainable development to those without access in the developing world. The Ambu Bags will be delivered to the Africa Mercy and the newly built Global Mercy, the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship.

“We thank Ambu for the generous donation of the Ambu bags. For the past 65 years, Ambu has made a commitment to deliver innovative quality products that have a positive impact on patient care and the work of healthcare professionals. Mercy Ships looks forward to an ongoing relationship with Ambu and using the Ambu bags when our ships are in field service in Africa,” says Christie VanWinkle, medical procurement manager at Mercy Ships.