At least 120 more children with cancer should have been admitted to Okhmatdyt this year — Director of Tabletochki CF

At the time of the Russian missile attack on the Okhmatdyt hospital, about 140 children under the care of the Tabletochki charity foundation, which supports children with cancer, were present there. One child was wounded.

Viacheslav Bykov, the director of the foundation, reported this on Hromadske Radio.

According to Bykov, all the children are currently being relocated to other hospitals in Kyiv. Some may be transferred to other regions of Ukraine or abroad.

«Some children may be sent to other hospitals in Ukraine. We also expect an increase in the number of trips abroad because Okhmatdyt provided highly specialized treatment that is not easily available in other Ukrainian clinics», — Bykov said.

Bykov explained that no other complex in Ukraine matches Okhmatdyt. Consequently, children with cancer are now being treated in four different hospitals instead of just one. For example, radiotherapy, previously available at Okhmatdyt, is now only accessible at two private hospitals in Ukraine. The foundation is negotiating with these institutions to prepare them to receive patients. This requires separate funding, so Tabletochki has launched a fundraising campaign to ensure uninterrupted treatment for the children.

«Continuity of care is crucial in treating childhood cancer. Therefore, we are preparing for all scenarios and supporting the hospitals where the children are currently being treated. Additionally, we are seeing an increase in applications for our targeted program, as not all necessary treatments are available in the state or municipal medical systems», — Bykov stated.

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For sending children abroad, the Safer Ukraine program, partnered with the American St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, is highly beneficial.

«This initiative organizes the centralized and well-coordinated travel of children abroad for further treatment, primarily to European Union countries such as Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a leader in treating childhood cancer. Previously, some children were also taken to Canada and the United States», — Bykov explained.

Bykov noted that as of the morning of July 9, they had already raised over UAH 27 million. There is also a separate fundraiser aimed at international donors, which has raised $100,000. The fundraising campaign will remain open beyond July 9 to continue supporting children with cancer and to help restore and maintain Okhmatdyt’s operations.

Currently, there are about 600 cases of childhood cancer in Ukraine, with around 120 children expected to be treated at Okhmatdyt this year.

As a reminder, July 9 has been declared a day of mourning in the capital. As of the morning of July 9, the death toll in Kyiv following the July 8 missile attack is 27, with 117 people injured.

Additionally, the UN Security Council will hold a meeting today regarding the shelling of the Okhmatdyt hospital in Kyiv.