Volunteers from an Oklahoma City amputee organization will take dozens of prosthetic knees and feet to a Haitian border clinic to assist maimed earthquake victims.

About 12 Limbs for Life volunteers from all over Oklahoma will travel to a clinic in Barahona, a Dominican Republic village about 30 miles west of the Haitian border. Aid agencies will transport patients from the Haiti border to Barahona and back.

Limbs for Life is committed to helping amputees in Haiti for the next 10 years. The organization’s goal is to set up a prosthetic facility in the country and eventually hand it over to be run locally.

“We can’t just go down there, fit as many people as we can with prosthetic limbs and then leave,” said Craig Gavras, Limbs for Life executive director and amputee of 15 years.

Although prosthetic technologies have grown, most advanced legs and arms require technical care that are not feasible due to the current conditions in Haiti. The volunteers will be taking the most basic prosthetics.

“While they don’t offer the same amenities of the advanced ones, they are more easily maintained and less likely to break,” McGhee said.

Some manufactured parts are used from past patients, and some are donated by business. Nearly all parts can be reused after being dissembled and cleaned at clinics. Volunteers are able to assist amputees with the help from SPS Prosthetics and Orthotics and the Dominican Rehabilitation Association.

“By helping the amputees of Haiti, we’re putting people back on their feet who can then turn around and help rebuild the country,” Gavras said. “Helping the nation’s amputees will play a critical part in helping the nation recover.”