An Honor Walk for a Organ Donor in Odesa: Heart and Kidneys Save Three Lives
© Photo: culturemeter.od.ua
A historic milestone took place at the Odesa Regional Clinical Hospital—its first-ever multi-organ procurement and transplantation. The event saved several lives at once and offered hope to patients who had been waiting for years. The hospital formed an “Honor Walk,” lining the corridor with gratitude as the donor was taken to the operating room.
According to the Odesa Regional State Administration’s Department of Health, surgeons from Ukraine’s Heart Institute (Ministry of Health) and the O.O. Shalimov National Scientific Center, together with Odesa physicians, performed an extremely complex operation. The donor was a patient who had suffered a severe ischemic stroke. Despite the doctors’ efforts, the patient could not be saved. A medical board determined brain death, and the family—overcoming immeasurable grief—made the profoundly generous decision to give others a chance at life.
Thanks to the donation, three people received a “second birthday”:
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A 49-year-old former serviceman (born 1974) — kidney;
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A 31-year-old internally displaced resident of Kherson region (born 1992) — kidney;
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A 24-year-old patient (born 2000) — heart.
The kidney transplants were performed by the Transplantation and Dialysis Department led by Dr. V.A. Sagatovych. The heart was transported to Kyiv, where it now beats in the chest of a young man, giving him a full life. The kidney transplants for the other two patients were carried out by the transplantology team of the Odesa Regional Clinical Hospital.
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