WORLD NEWS – UKRAINE: In the midst of war, a dramatic transplant unfolded that would change a young life. Twelve-year-old Kira Sciorova, whose heart had been weakened by childhood illnesses and who had been living with an external, suitcase-like artificial heart, was on the waiting list for a new organ when a call came on July 9. Dr. Boris Todorov, director of the Kyiv Heart Institute, learned that a 4-year-old girl had died of catastrophic brain injuries and that her parents had chosen to donate organs. Kira emerged as the match.
The retrieval and transplantation became a race against both time and violence. The donor’s body lay in a hospital deep inside a combat zone under heavy Russian attack. Dr. Todorov and his team navigated explosions and drones to reach the hospital, securing the donor heart that would remain viable for only a few hours outside the body. Back at the Kyiv Heart Institute, the transplant team prepared and performed the surgery while buildings shook from nearby strikes, turning an already delicate operation into an act of extraordinary courage and precision.
For Kira and her mother, Aliona Scarva, the transplant was a raw mixture of grief, relief and resolve. Displaced by the invasion in 2014, the family had already endured years of uncertainty. Seeing Kira hooked to the artificial heart had been a shock; receiving the donor organ was a transformational moment. Kira’s new heart began to take over her circulation and her condition improved, though she continues rehabilitation to address spasticity in an arm, a leg and an eye. The donor’s mother, grieving her own devastating loss, is honored for the decision that gave another child life.
This transplantation story highlights the convergence of medical skill, human generosity and wartime peril. It underscores the life-saving power of organ donation, the devotion of medical teams operating under fire, and the resilience of a young girl and her family who now dream of visits to the Carpathian Mountains and a future lived with a new heart.
