Helping Little Patients in Kyiv and Lviv

Despite the horrors on our Ukrainian soil, life goes on. Children are born and doctors help those in need around the clock. Unfortunately, the hospitals do not have enough equipment and doctors have to ask for help from charity providers. Our goal is to support them in difficult times and purchase medical equipment to help save children. Under this project, help will be provided to the premature newborns nursing department at the National Children's Specialized Hospital "OKHMATDYT" and the department for newborns with prenatal pathology at St. Nicholas Hospital in Lviv.

The department at Okhmatdit receives little patients from all over Ukraine. These are prematurely born children with critically low body weight, in the risk zone, who require skilled medical care. Every year more than 200 children who could not be treated in other hospitals of the country receive care here. As part of the project, we aim to purchase a modern bilirubinometer, which allows non-invasive, almost round-the-clock monitoring of the level of evil bilirubin in the blood of a newborn baby and to treat jaundice.

Jaundice in newborns is the appearance of visible yellow coloring of the baby's skin, mucous membranes, and sclerae due to increased levels of bilirubin in the newborn's blood. In 80% of premature infants, bilirubin levels in the blood causes jaundice, which must be treated, otherwise the small, underdeveloped liver may fail at any time. How to recognize physiological and pathological jaundice? For this purpose, there are special devices called "transcutaneous bilirubinometers". This is a compact device for percutaneous measurement of bilirubin levels in newborns. Because of the cutaneous measurement of bilirubin levels, it is a non-invasive and therefore painless alternative to traditional blood tests. There is no need to draw blood from the patient, which is very stressful for babies and their parents. The test result is known in just a few seconds. In combination with other clinical symptoms, this allows the right decision to be made in a short time regarding the choice of further management tactics for the little patient.

The department for newborns with prenatal pathology of the Lviv maternity hospital needs to purchase two fetal monitors. Babies from the western region and migrants' children, who are in need of surgical care with anesthesiological support and small patients with pathologies, are born here. These monitors are the best option for inpatient cardiotocography and are indispensable for diagnosis. Fetal monitor has a color TFT monitor with graphic and digital information display, ability to connect to the central station, alarm system allows the use of this equipment not only in the antenatal period, but also for diagnostic evaluation of fetal state and uterine contractility during the whole period of delivery. Cardiotocography is one of the leading methods to assess the condition of the fetus in the antenatal period, allowing doctors to make timely decisions and save the lives of those in need of surgical medical care.

This important medical equipment can save children's lives and allows doctors to provide quality medical services. Support the project and help the little patients in Kiev and Lviv!