LET’S HELP POLINA AND ALL OTHER PREMATURE BABIES AT THE KHARKIV PERINATAL CENTRE IN EASTERN UKRAINE

05 Apr LET’S HELP POLINA AND ALL OTHER PREMATURE BABIES AT THE KHARKIV PERINATAL CENTRE IN EASTERN UKRAINE

Polina was born to her mother Iryna Zelena at the beginning of March. She came to this world three months before her due date and weighing just 630 grams. Polina and Iryna are housed in the Perinatal Centre in Kharkiv, a city in north-eastern Ukraine that  for a month now has been under heavy attack. Exposed to almost continuous Russian shelling, this city is today so devastated that it is practically unrecognizable, while civilian casualties number in the hundreds. In these dramatic surroundings, the city perinatal centre cares for future mothers not only from Kharkiv but also from the surrounding area, while the neonatology department of the maternity ward has been transferred to an underground shelter.

As we learned from Viktoria Milutin, head of the northern section of the National Health Service, the number of premature babies in Ukraine has tripled in recent months. This is because pregnant women in many parts of the war-torn country have for weeks lived in basements and shelters in extremely poor sanitary conditions, where they are exposed to all kinds of infections, the most common cause of premature birth.

Premature babies need specialist medical care. Even in ideal conditions they are especially vulnerable, while in times of war and acute shortages their health and lives are further endangered. The centre’s staff have therefore directly sent Krokodil a list of the most urgent medical supplies they desperately need. These include incubators, monitors, respirators and similar items.

After gathering a minimum amount of this equipment, staff of the Krokodil Association will personally take the equipment to Ukraine. Besides Polina, our help is needed by Viktoria, Veronika and other premature babies born weighing less than a kilogram who are still in critical condition.

The list of equipment needed is as follows:
Autonomous incubator – 2
Device for artificial lung ventilation (anaesthetic-respiratory) – 2
Oxygen concentrator 10l – 5
Monitor – 2
Caesarian surgical instrument set – 5
Children’s tonometer – 20
Medical contact/contactless thermometer – 20
Thermal blanket for adults – 2
Ambu bag – 10

We invite everyone who is able to join our humanitarian campaign to help as much as they can, showing empathy and solidarity with innocent victims of the war. Donations can be made through the account: 170-0030039599000-25 with the title ‘Donacija za nabavku opreme za Harkovski gradski perinatalni centar’. The recipient is ‘Udruženje KROKODIL, Karađorđeva 43, 11000 Beograd’.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL DONATIONS:
UDRUZENJE KROKODIL, KARADJORDJEVA 43/2, 11000 BELGRADE, UNICREDIT BANK SERBIA JSC
EUR
IBAN: RS35170003003959900122 SWIFT: BACXRSBG
USD
IBAN: RS35170003003959900995 SWIFT: BACXRSBG

On this occasion, we would also like to call on all people of good will to provide help in the form of food, hygiene products and other materials to help make the lives of civilians caught in the war at least a little easier. Humanitarian aid is collected at the Embassy of Ukraine, at 4 Paje Adamova Street in Belgrade, every working day from 9 am to 8 pm. For more information, visit the fb page of the Embassy: https://www.facebook.com/ambasadaukrajine/