A board-certified plastic surgeon has announced a new program to provide pro bono plastic surgery to certain qualified candidates.
“Barrett Gives Back” was introduced by the surgeon on social media in mid December.
Its first winner and recipient was announced Wednesday.
Barrett Gives Back was conceived and launched by Dr. Daniel Barrett, a Beverly Hills board-certified plastic surgeon, and one of social media’s most popular, as a way of giving back to certain patients in need.
Barrett Gives Back is “for anyone who could not normally afford” certain cosmetic surgery procedures, “because everyone deserves to look and feel their best,” the surgeon said on December 17th.
Among those Dr. Barrett wishes to reach and serve with the program, he says, are:
- Victims of domestic abuse.
- Persons with disfiguring scars who can’t get insurance coverage.
- New mothers who’ve spent their lives putting everyone first.
- Transgender patients who struggle to get insurance coverage.
- The “single dad” who achieved massive weight loss and is stuck with excess skin.
“This is for the people who have spent their entire life insecure or hating what they see when they look in the mirror thinking they’ll never be able to fix it,” he shared.
According to the surgeon’s website, the pro bono program is not currently accepting submissions, though the surgeon has said that Barrett Gives Back will continue as an ongoing effort, with more winners to be announced.
Applications can be made via the surgeon’s website, by the hopeful patient or by someone else on their behalf.
Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, over the age of 13, have no insurance coverage for the procedure they need, and be of an income level that prevents them from getting the surgery without financial aid.
The pro bono program, if won, covers the cost of the surgical procedure.
Travel and lodging arrangements are handled and paid for by winners of the program.
Many practices offer pro bono plastic surgery to patients in certain cases, with the most well-known of them being the Athenix Body Sculpting Institute’s “Athenix Gives Back” contest, announced in 2019. It receives thousands of nominations each year.