SA medical equipment to save PNG lives

Life-saving medical equipment from the old Royal Adelaide Hospital will soon be on its way to earthquake-ravaged Papua New Guinea.

Shila Yukuli Paia from Flinders University has been leading the effort to collate and identify where the equipment will be most critically needed.

"I know that every item we send to PNG is going to be of great value, it is going to help save lives," she said.

One of the items, Ms Paia is most pleased about donating is a surgical microscope, which will go to the country's only cancer treatment centre.

But the PhD student said even simple items taken for granted in the developed world would be useful.

"Things like syringes are going to make a lot of difference because it means a mother can take her child to a clinic for immunisation," she said.

The country's already under-resourced highland regions were hit by a 7.5-magnitude quake in late February, killing more than 100 people.

"Access to services isn't there, basic primary health care isn't there, women are dying giving birth and children are dying," Ms Paia said.

The PNG donation is around one of 30 different countries including Tanzania, Timor Leste and Nepal that will benefit from equipment from the old RAH.