American Students for Health

05/14/2025

Our dearest supporters,

We are thrilled to announce that the reagents that your donations had funded had matched 3 successful kidney transplants, in 11-year-old Anastasia, 6-year-old Olezhyk, and 10-year-old Andriyka. Thank you for everything that you do for us!!! Thank you so much for Крила надії (Wings of Hope) and Natalia Lipska for collaborating with us to make this possible. Feel free to read more about each of their stories below.

Each of these procedures were carried out at Western Ukrainian Specialized Children's Medical Center (now known as Clinical Center of Pediatric Medicine, Western Ukrainian Specialized Center.

Anastasia's story:
11-year-old Anastasia, from Mykolaiv region, was born with a congenital developmental defect of the urinary system. Since birth, she was constantly under the supervision of Mykolaiv doctors, and underwent a number of surgical interventions to correct the pathology. However, bilateral vesicoureteral reflux gradually destroyed her kidneys. Anastasia arrived at the center in the terminal stage of the disease. After special treatment and preparation for transplantation at Клініка дитячої нефрології, діалізу та трансплантації нирки (Clinic of Pediatric Nephrology, Dialysis, and Kidney Transplantation) the girl had a kidney transplant successfully, with her dad serving as the donor. Anastasia has always loved to dance, and is already dreaming of going back to dancing.

Olezhyk's story:

Olezhyk had suffered from chronic kidney disease since birth. In 2018, he became a patient of Клініка дитячої нефрології, діалізу та трансплантації нирки (Clinic of Pediatric Nephrology, Dialysis, and Kidney Transplantation). Complex pathology of the urinary tract led to kidney failure, thus requiring renal replacement therapy since the age of 3. Olezhyk has spent the last six years of his life on peritoneal dialysis. Daily sessions lasting 12 hours each prevented him and his family from living a full life. At the time, he was awaiting an organ transplant while on the organ transplant waiting list.

On December 5, 2024 a tragedy occurred in Odessa region. A 13-year-old boy from Odessa region was diagnosed brain dead due to a serious illness. The boy's parents, despite their great grief, made a difficult decision - to give other patients a chance at a full life.

Transport of the organ from Odesa to Lviv involved a long period of cold ischemia, which concerned their team. To carry out the operation as efficiently and quickly as possible, Dmytro Beshley, a specialist from Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital who is currently serving in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was involved. The surgery was a resounding success.

Andriyka:

Andriyka was born with a urinary tract defect and chronic kidney failure. Nearly a month after birth, he was treated in the ICU, and nearly had to undergo peritoneal dialysis. Fortunately, the doctors managed to stabilize his condition and restore kidney function. In 2016, he underwent surgical correction for the development defect of the urinary tract.

The family returned to the Clinic of Pediatric Nephrology, Dialysis, and Kidney Transplantation in September of 2024 due to a significant deterioration in Andriyka's health. With high creatinine and urea levels, the question of renal replacement therapy resurfaced. Risk of kidney failure and anemia was rapidly increasing, and so the team needed to start dialysis or perform a kidney transplant. When given the possibility of a family transplant, Andriyka's parents agreed without hesitation. According to the results of the compatibility tests [this is what we fundraised for!], Andriyka's mother was a compatible match, said Roman Andrunevych, a pediatric nephrologist and head of the Clinic. He added that predialysis kidney transplantation is the optimal treatment option for patients with chronic kidney disease. It not only avoids the risks associated with dialysis, but is also associated with better survival rates for the transplanted kidney.

However, the transplantation was complicated by a severe congenital defect of the urinary system. Therefore, a multidisciplinary team of specialists from the Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital and teams of anesthesiologists, nephrologists and urologists from the center were involved.

Andriyko is already home now, happy that after a period of rehabilitation, he will have a chance to live a full life.

06/25/2024

Hello everyone!!!
We are absolutely ecstatic to announce that we have finally completed our fifth fundraising campaign and have successfully raised $2000 to purchase reagents thanks to YOUR help! The rest of the funds will be sent to Kryla Nadiyi (Крила надії) in 1-2 business days.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank each one of you who has financially supported, or simply just shared our fundraiser. It’s difficult to put into words how much we truly appreciate your contributions, time, and support. 💛💙
We would also like to announce the success story of two-year-old Maksimko, the smallest patient to have a kidney transplant in Lviv. The staff at the specialized children’s hospital at WUSCMC have spent almost a year and a half preparing for this operation. In short, Makismko has successfully received his transplant kidney from a 40-year-old donor and was discharged home as of June, 2024. Your direct donations have contributed to the success stories of patients like Maksimko and many others. Thank you for everything and please stay tuned for more updates!!!

The full story of Makismko for those who are interested:
Two-year-old Maksimko is the smallest patient to have a kidney transplant in Lviv. Before the complex operation of a baby aged 2 years 4 months and weighing 10 kg, the multidisciplinary team has been preparing for almost a year and a half. "It's going to be difficult, but together we'll make it! "the words of children's nephrologist Roman andruneviča's mom maksimka mentions or not daily. Now she is thanking fate that the specialized treatment of her son went to Клініка дитячої нефрології, діалізу та трансплантації нирки. The defect of the development of the urinary system in the fetus was diagnosed still during the mother's pregnancy. Then the situation was greatly complicated by a rupture of the right kidney, which happened at 28 weeks. After birth, the baby was in the intensive care for over a month, and underwent two operations - for 10 and 17 days of life. "We met Maksimko when he turned two months old. First, they performed conservative therapy, monitored kidney indicators, performed blood transfusions to treat severe anemia, vaccinated, etc. That is, the entire medical team of the Center worked," says Roman Andrunevich. In February 2023, the child began peritoneal dialysis due to deteriorating health. To live fully, the boy needed a transplant as soon as possible. Maksimko waited a chance to rescue while in line at the donor organ in . Kidney for our little patient was "found" in May this year. The donor was an adult, 40-year-old man. The operating team of surgeons and anesthesiologists of the Center together with colleagues-transplantologists of the First Medical Association of Lviv successfully transplanted a kidney. Two weeks after the transfer, Maximka was discharged home. In the circle of the family, the process of recovery is faster and more effective, doctors say. During an impromptu discharge, the doctors wished the family to come to them only for checkups or just to visit.

04/26/2024

Hello everyone!

We are thrilled to announce our fifth fundraising initiative as part of our non-profit. We aim to raise $2500 USD to purchase HLA-typing reagents that match bone marrow and organ transplants for children in Lviv, Ukraine. These reagents will help find a donor for at least 20 children, giving them a chance for recovery. Please help us spread the word, and share this with your friends/anyone who would be interested. You can also view our website to see our last campaigns: www.americanstudentsforhealth.com

The raging war in Ukraine has severely limited children's acce… Daniel Razgonyaev needs your support for Reagents for Organ Transplants for Ukrainian Children

03/31/2024

Dearest supporters,

We are thrilled to announce another remarkable transplant that occurred thanks to YOUR donations as part of our previous fundraising campaign for PCR reagents!

Yuriy is 13 years old and comes from Zolochiv (Lviv region). He was diagnosed with kidney failure at the age of 7. As the disease progressed, his mother, without hesitation, agreed to become a donor for her son. The Center's Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory (the laboratory which we donated the reagents to) conducted all necessary immunological studies and confirmed compatibility.

We once again wanted to thank everyone for their support. We gave Yuriy another chance at life, and we believe that that is truly priceless. We couldn’t have done this without you.

Please stay tuned for our next campaign, which will be coming shortly!

Best,
ASH Team

09/28/2023

Good afternoon our wonderful supporters,

We are thrilled to announce that the funds you all contributed to our campaign have not only purchased the lab reagents needed, but also identified and matched a kidney from a posthumous donor for 5-year-old Snizhanka. Your contribution has saved her from a life of hemodialysis and granted her a chance to live a normal life.

Snzihanka has had complex kidney disease since she was 11 months old, and prior to this surgery, was on hemodialysis since. American Students for Health would like to thank every single donor who contributed to this campaign, the doctors who performed the surgery, and our friends at Крила надії.

Please stay tuned for more updates, and feel free to check out a snapshot of the invoice for the reagents which your donations bought.

Thank you for everything!

- The ASH Team

09/04/2023

We write with great joy to announce that we've successfully raised $2000 USD (73,200 UAH) and have thus concluded the fundraising portion of this campaign! We're thrilled with the sheer speed of this fundraiser, all thanks to you, our kindhearted, caring donors. The funds have been sent to Ms. Lipska's organization "Wings of Hope." Wings of Hope will contact the hospital to once again verify the exact reagents, purchase them (if available in Ukraine), and transfer them to the hospital. If they are not available, it may take up to 1 month to receive them from medical suppliers. Ms. Lipska will also provide us with all documents and photos as a transparent report, of which we'll share with you. In summary, stay tuned on our GoFundMe, or our website/social media to find out what the funds are used to buy, and the impact that they will have!

08/01/2023

Hello everyone! ASH is back for our fourth campaign, which aims to raise $1600 for a children's hospital in Lviv, Ukraine named Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Centre (WUSCMC). The funds will be used to purchase life-saving laboratory reagents used to determine donor compatibility for critical organ transplants. To find out more about this campaign, please visit this link: https://gofund.me/8cb66d31. If you have any other questions you can visit our page or visit americanstudentsforhealth.com to explore our previous campaigns. The rest of the team and I would greatly appreciate it if you help our cause by donating or spreading the word. Anything helps! Thank you all!

The war in Ukraine is still raging, with hundreds of children dead, … Daniel Razgonyaev needs your support for Lab Reagents for Ukrainian Children's Hospital

01/26/2023

We are so happy to help, and thank you again to our wonderful donors! Best health to you all!

01/26/2023

11/26/2022

Thank you so much to all of our supporters on this fundraising journey! We couldn't have done it without your support. This warms our hearts, and we're overjoyed that we were able to help despite being thousands of miles apart!

Check out all the information about this campaign on our website:

www.americanstudentsforhealth.com

Stay tuned to our next fundraiser!

09/24/2022

Greetings everyone,

As of today, the fundraising portion of our campaign is finally complete! Thank you for every single one of your donations, we couldn't have done it without you.

Our next step is ordering the vein-finder, and then shipping it to Ukraine through Poland. We will provide photos and all the information associated with our shipment here and on our website (www.americanstudentsforhealth.com). We will be posting periodic updates on the status of the order there as well as on this GoFundMe page (before it is closed).

Once again, we thank every single one of you for your unwavering support during these heart-wrenching times for Ukraine.

- Daniel Razgonyaev,
American Students for Health.

We are a group of students that are dedicated to ensuring that children in Eastern Europe obtain the best quality of medical care possible. We do this by raising funds for different types of children's hospitals.

08/17/2022

Greetings all!

American Students for Health (ASH) is launching a new campaign to raise $2500 in funds to purchase a vein-finder for Lviv's Early Childhood Pediatric Center at St. Nicholas' Hospital. This high-quality vein-finder will help pediatric surgeons minimize pain and trauma to infants and children when performing venipunctures.

Since the beginning of the war, they have been treating and counseling children who moved to Lviv and providing them with everything necessary for their care. With this tool, surgeons and staff will be able to help at least 30 children daily.

All excess funds, apart from shipping the vein-finder to Lviv, will be utilized to purchase a phototherapy lamp to treat hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice) in infants.

Anything helps. Please spread the word!

Greetings all. We are American Students for Health, a non-profit, gras… Daniel Razgonyaev needs your support for Fundraiser for Ukrainian Children's Hospital