Heart Kids NZ

This week 12 kiwi families will be told their child has a heart condition. Donate now to help Heart Kids NZ support these families.

Auckland

Heart Kids NZ is the only national charity in Aotearoa dedicated to supporting people affected by congenital and childhood-acquired heart conditions. Every week, around 12 families in New Zealand learn that their child has a heart defect. With no prevention and no cure, many heart children face multiple surgeries, long and repeated hospital stays, and ongoing medical care across their lifetime. Heart Kids NZ currently supports more than 14,000 members nationwide.

For more than 40 years, Heart Kids NZ has walked alongside heart children, teens, adults and their whānau from diagnosis through to adulthood for life, providing free emotional, practical and community-based support so families are not facing this journey alone.

Our objectives and goals are to:

* Provide timely, compassionate emotional and practical support to heart children, adults and their whānau

* Reduce isolation and distress by fostering strong peer connection and community belonging

* Build knowledge and confidence so families can better navigate complex health systems

* Advocate for the wellbeing of people living with lifelong heart conditions

The support that Heart Kids NZ provides is vital to helping individuals and families cope with the day-to-day challenges of living with a childhood heart condition.

Latest update

Spend a day with our hospital support Taituarā, Ashley💖 26 March 2026

Hospital life is more than medical care.

It’s long days on the ward. It’s waiting rooms, sleepless nights, and trying to understand words you never expected to hear.

Ashley is one of our Hospital Support Taituarā based at Starship. She walks alongside heart kids and their families while they’re in hospital, offering practical and emotional support, helpful resources, and steady presence during some of their most overwhelming days.

The clinical care is essential. But so is the support that surrounds it. Hospital support fills the gaps between appointments and procedures, helping make an overwhelming experience feel just a little more manageable.

Every week, around 12 families in Aotearoa face the reality of a child with a heart condition. Heart Kids NZ is there through diagnosis, hospital stays, and the lifelong journey that follows, providing support, resources, and hope when it’s needed most. And none of it would be possible without people like you. Your donation helps support children and families living with childhood heart conditions across Aotearoa. 💖

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