Chernobyl charity issues urgent Christmas appeal
Chernobyl Children International (CCI) has issued an urgent Christmas appeal to raise critical funds for lifesaving heart surgeries.
They said that the ongoing war in Ukraine has worsened an ongoing health crisis among children in Ukraine. The war has seen a 55% increase in children presenting for urgent cardiac procedures, a collapsing healthcare workforce, and hospitals being damaged or destroyed by targeted attacks.
However, despite these challenges, survival rates at Lviv’s St Nicholas’ Hospital have improved by 39% as a result of CCI’s training, equipment, and on-the-ground expertise.
Recently, a CCI team was successful in saving the life of baby Nestor, who suffered from a congenital heart defect, a lasting intergenerational impact of the Chernobyl disaster.
CCI’s cardiac surgeons arrived just in time. They were able to perform a successful heart bypass and procedure to rebuild his heart’s chamber, giving him a future.
“This time last year, Nestor’s parents were preparing for the unthinkable: they believed their newborn son would spend his first Christmas in a cold Ukrainian graveyard,” said a spokesperson for CCI.
“Instead, they will spend this Christmas cradling a thriving little boy, a moment they call their ‘Christmas miracle’.”
However, CCI Founder and Voluntary CEO Adi Roche said that without public support, cases like Nestor’s will not be possible in 2026.
“This Christmas, too many families are grieving babies who could have been saved. A newborn’s first Christmas should never be their last. But without funding, more children with ‘Chornobyl Heart’ will die before next Christmas.
“We can save them, but only with your help. The people of Ireland have the power to turn heartbreak into hope,” she said.
The money raised will fund several key initiatives including training and upskilling Ukrainian cardiac teams, delivering vital equipment to war-damaged hospitals, and directly saving the lives of newborns and children with severe heart defects.
“Every donation this Christmas directly determines how many missions can go ahead – and how many babies will live long enough to see another Christmas,” said a CCI spokesperson.
Over the last 40 years, the CCI’s cardiac programme has saved the lives of 4,200 children in Belarus and Ukraine. Despite the invasion of the Chornobyl Exclusion zone and the recent drone attack on the nuclear power plant, CCI continues to expand its programmes for the most vulnerable.
CCI is the only UN-recognised NGO working with Chornobyl survivors and the lead organiser of the global 40th anniversary commemorations in 2026.