13-year-old Dana was discharged after the first lung transplant in Ukraine

13-year-old Dana was discharged from the hospital after the first lung transplant in Ukraine. The girl underwent the operation in the beginning of September, after which she went through gradual recovery.

The need for the transplant arose because of worsening health. Dana had a congenital heart defect from birth — a patent ductus arteriosus, which later caused pulmonary hypertension. The girl had to wait a long time for donor lungs.

The donor was an 11-year-old child who died as a result of a traumatic brain injury. When doctors declared brain death, the parents agreed to post-mortem donation.

The transplantation lasted approximately eight hours. After the procedure, Dana quickly regained consciousness and was able to breathe without external assistance. During rehabilitation she gradually regained strength and went for walks.

Currently, the following are waiting for such transplants in Ukraine:

• 58 Ukrainians — waiting for lung transplants;
• another 40 patients — waiting for a heart-lung transplant.

Earlier we reported:

• In Ukraine, lungs were transplanted into a child and a heart into an 11-year-old boy for the first time
• When it seemed impossible, Ukrainian medics lifted a helicopter and saved a teenager
• One person’s death saved four: unique transplants were performed overnight in Ukraine
• The death of a 4-year-old girl became a lifesaving act: in Kyiv three children were saved thanks to donation
• A mother of many children from the Mykolaiv region, who had undergone a lung transplant, died in the hospital