On the night of July 9, Dr. Borys Todurov, the director of the Kyiv Heart Institute, received a call from a colleague at the Ohmatdyt Hospital across the city. Earlier that evenings, a 4-year-old girl had died of brain injuries from an accident, and her parents had agreed to donate her organs.
Sponsor Message
Todurov had a patient — Kira Skliarova, a 12-year-old girl from Luhansk region of Ukraine — who needed a new heart urgently. Childhood illnesses had severely weakened her own heart. “She was on the waiting list for a long time, and just one day before we implanted her with a mechanical heart, but she needed a transplant,” he told NPR.
He had to risk his own life to complete the surgery.
The donor’s body was located about 10 miles from the Heart Institute, which was on that evening under one of the heaviest Russian attacks since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.
“There were Russian missiles and drones everywhere, the air raid alert was going off,” he said. “But we had a chance to save a life so took it.”
A video made by Todurov shows their vehicle dodging explosions as Ukrainian air defenses fought off Russian drones. “On our way, we saw a lot of drones, and buildings that they targeted that were on fire,” he said.
Kira, center, still has a long road to recover but the doctors are optimistic. “Treatment and rehabilitation are ahead,” Todurov said, “but Kira now has a chance for a new, full life.” Kira is flanked by her mother, right, and the mother of her heart donor, left.
Read full story on NPR
0
0