On October 17th, 2016 a press conference was held as to the second successful mechanical heart implantation. The operation was performed second time in Ukraine, in Kiev Heart Institute, to a young woman Lyudmyla Filarenko.

The operation was performed on October 16th, 2016, by the Heart Institute team under the leadership of the Institute’s General Director, cardiac surgeon Boris Todurov, together with German colleagues – Prof. Christof Schmid, Head of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, Dr. Ersel Simon, a cardiologist from Berlin Heart clinic, Küther Steffen, a bioengineer from Berlin Heart. The operation took about four hours. Lyudmyla recovers well after surgery and is in active communication with her doctors.

The press conference was held by Boris Todurov, the Institute’s General Director, Iryna Sysoenko – a member of Ukrainian Parliament, the deputy head of the Parliament’s Committee for health care issues, Dr.Ihor Kuzmich – the head of ICU for adults, Dr. Ersel Simon a cardiologist from Berlin Heart clinic, Küther Steffen, a bioengineer from Berlin Heart.

Boris Todurov expressed his gratitude to all the team and people who supported the operation. He turned the attention to the fact, that mechanical heart is a bridge operation, which gives the patient the chance to survive until donor organ transplantation. Unfortunately, Ukrainian legislation makes donor organ transplantation in fact in stagnation at the moment, so hundreds of patients, who could be saved, are doomed to death. The other problem is financial, so the cost of mechanical heart (about 120 thousand Euro) is paid with aid of charity. The charty fund “Heart on the palm” (www.serdze.org.ua) rises the finances, appealing to media, internet and different charity events. In fact, the two mechanical hearts implanted to Ukrainian patients were given in credit, on the honour of Boris Todurov, and at the moment the money collected doesn’t cover the third of the necessary amount.

Iryna Sysoenko, the member of Ukrainian parliament, said, that the possibility to save lives via mechanical heart implantation is a very important step for Ukraine. She expects, that till the end of the year the draft low about thransplantation will be voted for in the Parliament.

Iryna Sysoenko accented, that it will take some time for the Parliament members to prepare the draft low, and even if the low will be adopted it needs time for it to work in full power. During all this period people in need of heart transplantation exist and they go for the operation abroad. Their financial needs are not covered by the state. As a deputy head of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Committee for health care issues she applied to deputy health care minister Ulyana Suprun and to the head of the Budget Committee, in order the state program to be formed for the next year as to necessary amount of mechanical hearts procurement. Miss Iryna said, that Ministry of Health has to form this request, in orientation on the number of such patients, so that the money for this could be included in the budget for year 2017.

We express the hope, that in close future many human lives will be saved with the aid of mechanical hearts, and the transplantation low will eventually work, giving Ukrainian patients the chance for appropriate medical help in their homeland.