13-year-old becomes first child in Ukraine to receive successful lung transplant

Dana Dudnyk underwent the eight-hour operation at Kyiv's Heart Institute two months ago. She was walking in a park a week after the procedure and running within a month, according to the institute's director and cardiac surgeon Borys Todurov. She is now preparing to leave the hospital.

Dana had a congenital heart defect that led to Eisenmenger syndrome and severe damage to the blood vessels in her lungs. Her condition deteriorated earlier this year, and she was placed on the lung transplant waiting list in April.

A donor became available in August, giving Dana's family only several hours to travel from Cherkasy to Kyiv for the operation.

The donor was an 11-year-old girl who had suffered a fatal traumatic brain injury. After doctors declared brain death, her parents consented to organ donation.

Fifteen medical professionals took part in the transplant, which involved replacing Dana's lungs separately.

Dana will need to take immunosuppressive medication for the rest of her life to prevent rejection, but doctors expect her to return to normal life without major restrictions.

Todurov said more than 200 people are currently waiting for heart or lung transplants at the institute and described Ukraine's organ donation rate as remaining significantly below levels in Europe and the United States.