UPDATES AND NEW CHALLENGES
We apologize for the recent lack of updates, and thank you for your continued patience and concern. We know you care deeply about our shared mission: saving children who are fighting cancer.
We are increasingly seeing the challenges that pediatric cancer hospitals in Russia face due to sanctions and the government’s responses to them.
MEDICATIONS:
Sanctions have made it difficult for the Russian government to procure a large portion of anti-tumor medications. The substitutes proposed by the Ministry of Health are not compatible with the modern treatment protocols supported by Podari Zhizn experts. Domestic production of generic medications is also hindered, as sanctions have cut off access to essential pharmacological components. Due to these restrictions and growing concerns about delivery delays, we—together with our sister charities—are working to create an emergency reserve of rare and unregistered drugs used to treat childhood cancers in Russia.
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT:
Sanctions, combined with government-imposed restrictions on purchasing from "unfriendly" countries, have also impacted the availability of medical equipment, consumables, and maintenance services. For example, the Ministry of Health can no longer buy Dräger ventilators, which are integral to operating rooms in cancer hospitals. Meanwhile, new facilities are scheduled to open in 2022 and will require at least 16 patient monitors and two Dräger ventilators.
BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT MATERIALS:
Sanctions have also disrupted the procurement of critical consumables for bone marrow transplants (depletion protocols). The absence of these materials threatens to set cancer treatment technology back by 15 years, significantly increasing the risks of complications and relapse.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS:
With the suspension of cross-border Visa and Mastercard transactions and increased difficulty in conducting foreign currency transactions for the Podari Zhizn Foundation in Russia, the burden of covering costs for medications, equipment, and supplies has largely shifted to our sister charities—Gift of Life (UK) and Podari.Life (USA). Thankfully, thanks to the commitment of our logistics partners, we can still ensure delivery to Russia. Your contributions are not in vain—they directly help the doctors and children who rely on them.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Podari.Life is currently under considerable financial strain. We are deeply grateful to the foreign donors who have already responded by directing their donations to our organization. We also hope our regular supporters will continue to stand with us. The growing need to help purchase medical equipment for Russian hospitals has significantly increased our funding requirements—but we believe in your generosity and compassion.