A 6-year-old girl in Kyiv underwent a successful heart transplant on Monday, according to officials from the Heart Institute of Ukraine's Ministry of Health, despite the ongoing conflict and persistent fear of Russian missiles.
After a three-hour procedure on Sunday night, the girl was given the 4-year-old boy's heart who had been declared brain dead after suffering an aneurysm, as reported by CNN.
A First
According to the institute, it was the first time a heart transplant had been carried out on a child of this age in Ukraine.
A medical team under the direction of Dr. Boris Todurov, the head scientist of the Department of Surgery and Minimally Invasive Therapy, carried out the transplant.
The mother of the kid whose heart was given can be seen standing at the girl's bedside in photos from the procedure that were posted by the Heart Institute.
Read also: Children Who Undergo Heart Transplantations Live More than 15 Years After Surgery: Study
Other Organ Transplants Amid the War
Two other kids received a liver and two additional kidney transplants from the youngster at the National Children's Institution "Ohmatdyt," a different institution in Kiev.
A 12-year-old boy from the Kherson region's occupied territory received two kidney transplants. He resided at the Ohmatdyt and had been in need of a transplant for more than three years, the hospital wrote on Facebook. Additionally, a 15-year-old kid from the Kirovohrad region received a liver transplant.
Without the family of donors choosing "to save the lives of people they do not know after losing a loved one," Dmytrieva said, transplants would not be feasible. "This is humanity's highest expression," particularly when it involves the death of a kid.
What Happens When There's An Attack
According to the Heart Institute, 23 heart transplants have been carried out in Ukraine so far this year despite the conflict.
If an operation is already in progress and air raid systems are activated, the operation cannot be stopped and will carry on even if the city is attacked. The medical team and the patient wait for the air raid sirens to stop before starting the procedure if it hasn't already started.
All patients were transported to a bomb bunker that had been carefully outfitted earlier this year when Kyiv's air defenses were weaker.
According to the Heart Institute, those who could walk around independently went, while staff members assisted those who could not.
Patients in the intensive care unit were the lone exception; they were unable to move, so the on-call doctor and other medical personnel stayed with them.
In order to maintain operations during blackouts, the Heart Institute has invested in specialized generators and has a self-sufficient water supply.
The number of patients with cardiovascular diseases and chronic diseases that were becoming worse because of stress increased throughout the war.
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