Amidst fierce warfare and the constant threat of Russian missiles, a successful heart transplant was performed on a 6-year-old girl in Kiev, according to officials at the Heart Institute of Ukraine’s Ministry of Health on Monday. .
The three-hour operation, performed last Sunday night, gave the girl the heart of a 4-year-old boy, whose doctors declared him dead from brain death after suffering an aneurysm.
It was the first time a heart transplant had been performed in Ukraine on such young children, the institute said.
“The operation was also unique because both the donor and the recipient were very young children, and the transplant required more effort from the doctors,” he added.
The transplant was performed by a team of doctors led by Dr. Boris Todurov, Chief Scientist of the Surgical and Minimally Invasive Treatment Department.
“The operation went smoothly, the girl was extubated two hours after the operation,” Todurov said in a post on his official Facebook page.
The Heart Institute released images of the operation showing the mother of the boy whose heart was donated at the girl’s bedside.
“The operation went well and the new heart is beating in the girl’s chest,” Oksana Dmytrieva, chair of the Ukrainian parliament’s subcommittee on modern medical technologies and transplant development, said in a Facebook post.
“It is extremely moving that the mother of the deceased boy came to hear her son’s heart beating in another chest… I have tears in my eyes at this photo,” he added.
Three more of the boy’s organs – two kidneys and a liver – were transplanted into two other children at another hospital in Kiev, the National Children’s Hospital “Ohmatdyt”.
Both kidneys were transplanted into a 12-year-old boy from the occupied part of the Kherson region.
“He had been waiting for a transplant for over 3 years and lived in Ohmatdyt,” the hospital said in a Facebook post. A liver was also transplanted into a 15-year-old boy from the Kirovohrad region.
“Many thanks to the little angel’s parents, who did an extremely noble act in this extremely difficult time for the family! You are people with a big and kind heart!” said Dmytrieva.
“May the little angel rest in peace. And a speedy recovery for the patients who were given the chance of a fulfilling life!”
Transplants would not be possible without the donors’ relatives making the decision to “save the lives of people they don’t know after losing a loved one,” Dmytrieva said.
“This is the noblest manifestation of humanity. Especially when it comes to the loss of a child.”
Heart surgery during the war
So far this year, 23 heart transplants have been performed in war-torn Ukraine, the Heart Institute said.
If an operation is already underway and the air strike systems are activated, the operation cannot be stopped and will continue even if there is an attack on the city, the institute told the CNN on Monday.
If the operation has not started, the team of doctors and the patient wait for the anti-aircraft sirens to turn off before starting the operation.
Earlier this year, when Kiev was less protected by air defenses, all patients were taken to a specially equipped air raid shelter.
Those who could get around went on their own, while those who couldn’t were helped by staff, the Heart Institute said.
The only exception were intensive care unit patients, who could not be moved, so the doctor on duty and other medical staff would stay with them.
The Heart Institute purchased special generators to keep running during blackouts and has an autonomous water supply.
During the war, the institute said it saw more patients suffering from cardiovascular disease and worsening chronic illnesses due to stress.
Source: CNN Brasil
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