ESCRS support for Ukraine continues

The ESCRS continues to support our Ukrainian colleagues as the war extends into its second year. Most recently, we have been coordinating the delivery of a generous donation from Dr Lee at iCare whilst Jurek Zych, the managing director of MDT Poland, has offered to supply Ahmed valves at cost price. We are also finalising observerships for one Ukrainian trainee to go to Utah, United States, and two to Auckland, New Zealand.

The 40th ESCRS Congress in Milan was very well attended by Ukrainian surgeons. The ESCRS offered free registration, and this offer was very warmly received, with 300 Ukrainian delegates attending in person and 180 virtually. The Society also provided travel bursaries for 20 Ukrainian trainees and hosted an exclusive reception.

The War Trauma session in Milan had strong support from Ukrainian speakers who were able to share their considerable knowledge and experience in this field. As the keynote speaker, Professor Ferenc Kuhn provided exceptional insight and contributed enormously to the discussion. The case studies on blast injuries alone, emphasising how frequently bilateral, complex polytrauma presents among civilians as military patients, was a stark reminder of just how damaging the war is in human terms and how impressively our Ukrainian colleagues are responding.

As the war unfortunately enters its second year, the ESCRS will endeavour to continue providing targeted support for Ukrainian surgeons. We know this will be put to the best possible use.

Our Society has established a fund to accept financial donations we will direct exclusively to support ophthalmology-related relief efforts arising from this conflict. We can accept donations to the fund from ESCRS members, industry partners, and fellow societies.

We can accept these donations through bank transfer. If you are an ESCRS member and wish to contribute, simply log in using your membership details to access information on how to donate, which is a straightforward process.

For industry partners or fellow societies, please contact us for information on how to make your donation.

Oliver Findl MD, President of the ESCRS