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((INTRO:))
[[An organ transplant surgeon from New York is planning a third trip to Ukraine, where he has been working with doctors to help patients caught up in Russia’s war on Ukraine. The surgeon, Dr. Robert Montgomery, is also working to raise money to buy medical equipment for a hospital in Lviv. Iryna Solomko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.]]
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptUkraine Transplant Surgeries
HEADLINE: US Transplant Surgeon Heads to Ukraine to Save Lives
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 04/23/2023 at 2:50 pm
BYLINE: Iryna Solomko
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: New York
VIDEOGRAPHER: Pavlo Terekhov
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs;
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, credits TBA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:11
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:
Editor's Note: ((Please return to Anna Rice and copy to HFR when done))
((INTRO:))
[[An organ transplant surgeon from New York is planning a third trip to Ukraine, where he has been working with doctors to help patients caught up in Russia’s war on Ukraine. The surgeon, Dr. Robert Montgomery, is also working to raise money to buy medical equipment for a hospital in Lviv. Iryna Solomko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.]]
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Joe Carrotta for NYU Langone Health))
Dr. Robert Mongomery is a surgeon who gained international attention for ten kidney transplants in a single day. All told, he has performed over ((End courtesy)) 2000 kidney transplant surgeries. In the spring of 2022 – shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – he decided to help patients there.
((Dr. Robert Montgomery, Transplant Surgeon)) ((ENG))
“I didn’t think it was enough to be sympathetic or to talk about it, but this was one of those things that required direct involvement.”
((NARRATION))
With the help of a Polish colleague, Montgomery met online with Ukrainian transplant surgeons who suggested he travel to Ukraine to help perform surgeries.
((Mandatory courtesy: First Lviv Medical Association))
He did not hesitate.
((End courtesy))
((Dr. Robert Montgomery, Transplant Surgeon)) ((ENG))
“When we got to Lviv, all the lights were out; the next morning we had two transplants that were
((Mandatory courtesy: First Lviv Medical Association))
scheduled. So, you know, we
((End courtesy))
slept for a few hours and then got going!”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: First Lviv Medical Association))
Ukrainian transplant surgeon Ihor Humennyi –
((End courtesy))
((Mandatory courtesy: ihor Humennyi))
the doctor who initially invited Montgomery to come to Ukraine – asked
((End courtesy))
Montgomery if he was afraid to be in a war zone.
((Ihor Humennyi, Transplant Surgeon)) ((UKR)) ((Zoom))
“And I remembered his answer very well. He said, ‘You know I had heart transplant surgery myself,
((Mandatory courtesy: First Lviv Medical Association))
right? And ever since I got a new heart, I realized I got extra time to live.
((End courtesy)) And I want to use this time helping people who need it.”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: First Lviv Medical Association + Facebook Logo))
Montgomery spent a week in Lviv and performed four transplant surgeries. He says they were all a success. The surgeon says he also found other ways to help.
((End courtesy))
((Dr. Robert Montgomery, Transplant Surgeon)) ((ENG))
“The whole time I was there, I was writing down the things that, you know, that could benefit from new instruments and equipment… So, I wrote all those things
((Mandatory courtesy: First Lviv Medical Association)) down while I was there, because I felt like ((End courtesy))
when I go back to the US, I can raise some money…”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: First Lviv Medical Association))
Back home, he managed to raise some $300,000
((End courtesy))
((Mandatory courtesy: NYU Langone Health))
that his clinic used to buy equipment for Ukrainian hospitals. He delivered on his second trip to Ukraine in October 2022.
He says ((End courtesy)) the constant shelling of energy and other infrastructure sites made work very stressful and difficult.
((Robert Montgomery, Transplant Surgeon)) ((ENG))
“The lights go off; the generators have to come on. There is that terrible, you know, switchover when everything goes black and the ventilators stop, the EKG machines stop… It’s terrible, having to be working under those circumstances.”
((NARRATION))
Now, Montgomery is preparing for his third trip to Ukraine, with the goal of helping Ukrainians who need prosthetics and psychological treatment. He is also raising money for joint projects between his hospital in New York and the Nezlamni Rehabilitation Center in Lviv.
((For Iryna Solomko, Anna Rice, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
New York
Embargo DateApril 23, 2023 14:32 EDT
Byline
((For Iryna Solomko, Anna Rice, VOA News))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English