Successful Transplantation During Air Raid: 11-Year-Old Girl Received a New Heart
This is reported by Kyiv24
The American television channel CNN released a video showing Kyiv cardiothoracic surgeon Boris Todurov and his team transporting a donor heart through Kyiv on the night of a powerful air attack by the Russian Federation. The medical team had to cover 16 kilometers from Okhmatdyt, where the donor’s body was located, to the Heart Institute on the left bank of the capital, risking their own lives.
Difficult and Dangerous Route Across the Bridge During Shelling
Crossing the Dnipro River via the bridge during Russian missile attacks is extremely dangerous, as vehicles become exposed to missile debris. Ukrainian air defense forces attempt to destroy drones and Russian missiles over the river to minimize the risk to city residents, but this creates additional danger for those forced to cross the bridge at that time.
“Crossing the Dnipro River via the bridge is extremely dangerous during an attack on Kyiv, as vehicles remain exposed, and Ukrainian air defense targets Russian drones and missiles when they are over the river to minimize the impact of falling debris,” journalists explained to the American audience.
Organ Donation and the Rescue of Three Children
Dr. Todurov’s patient was an 11-year-old girl who had been battling a severe heart condition for a long time. Her condition critically deteriorated, making a heart transplant the only option for survival. As soon as a donor organ became available, the medical team promptly transported it to the Heart Institute despite the threat of shelling, where they immediately began the transplantation operation. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the medical staff, the surgery was successful, and the girl returned to life.
The donor was a 4-year-old girl from Zhytomyr region who passed away on July 10. Okhmatdyt noted that this was the first case of posthumous organ donation from a child in this hospital with parental consent.
“At the end of last week, a 4-year-old girl from Zhytomyr region was brought to Okhmatdyt. On the night of July 10, the board had to declare the patient’s brain death. This was the first case in our hospital where our medical staff, together with psychologists, managed to navigate the difficult path with the family and obtain parental consent for posthumous donation. This decision is heroic,” said representatives from Okhmatdyt.
While the heart transplantation was ongoing at the Heart Institute, other organs from the young donor also saved lives: her liver was received by a 16-year-old patient with a rare Wilson-Konovalov disease, and her kidneys were transplanted to a 14-year-old boy who had been on dialysis for over seven months. Both surgeries were performed at Okhmatdyt, as the recipients were already in the hospital.
“Our recipients were in very critical condition. And I am sincerely grateful to the parents for understanding that their decision gave a chance for life to three children. This is the first case where both brain death diagnosis and organ retrieval and transplantation were conducted at Okhmatdyt,” said transplant surgeon Oleg Hodik from the National Children’s Hospital ‘Okhmatdyt’.