ESCRS Takes a Leading Role in Providing Support to Ukrainian Ophthalmologists

A report from Oliver Findl, President, ESCRS. As we have all seen, the fighting in the Donbas region has intensified whilst attacks continue elsewhere in Ukraine, including five railway stations and even two missile attacks on Kyiv during the visit by the UN Secretary General. It would seem the war is not going to end anytime soon and the support from ESCRS will be very much needed for months to come. Our cool storage was nearly at full capacity in Krakow, but many of these stores are now heading into Ukraine, where they will be distributed to 20 main sites across the country. Also, eyedrops paid for by ESCRS (20,000 euro) will ship at ESCRS’s expense to Ukraine from Giessen in Germany - where we were able to purchase them with the help of Dr Lyubomyr Lytvynchuk, whose assistance along with that of Anelia Nehanova in Krakow, has been invaluable throughout. We have had to find the most practical means of purchasing, importing, exporting, storing, and transporting the varied supplies and ensure the most needed items reach the surgeons who can put them to best use; this is not straightforward and will not fully satisfy everyone, but we now have a process that is tried and tested as well as expedient and transparent. We also are very happy to include EURETINA and ESOPRS in these efforts. In particular, we are very grateful for the donations of equipment from Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, BVI Medical, Johnson & Johnson Vision, the Lions Institute, Oertli, and Zeiss as well as the monetary donations from sister societies and members. James Hampton from the ESCRS Head Office has been working with the ESCRS IT team and David Verity (ESOPRS), Stuart Seiff (ASOPRS), and Ben Williams (a medical website specialist who is helping pro bono) to establish a platform that will act as a database of organisations supporting the ESCRS initiative and for support with clinical functionality. Regarding having a network of consultants willing to discuss cases with our Ukrainian colleagues, the feedback is that this could be very helpful, even allowing for the fact many Ukrainian surgeons now have considerable experience, gained since 2014, with battlefield trauma. Once again, I would like to thank all those who are supporting ESCRS in its efforts to help our colleagues and their patients in Ukraine. How can you help? The Society has established a fund to accept financial donations, which will be directed exclusively to support ophthalmology-related relief efforts arising from the conflict in Ukraine. We can accept donations to the fund from ESCRS members as well as industry partners and fellow societies. We are able to accept these donations via bank transfer, and if you are an ESCRS member and wish to contribute, please simply log in at this link https://appescrs-donations.azurewebsites.net/ using your membership details to access information on how to donate. For industry partners or fellow societies, please email escrs@mci-group.com for information on how to make your donation. Eyes on Ukraine Support for the medical and surgical needs of Ukrainian ophthalmologists is coming in from professional organisations, individuals, and industry groups from around the world. A group of Canadian ophthalmologists has established a project called Eyes on Ukraine to provide additional financial and medical support. The project is directed by Larissa Derzko-Dzulynsky MD. EuroTimes spoke with George Beiko BM, BCh, one of the nine team members. Dr Beiko was born in Ukraine and came to Canada in 1964, fleeing communism. “There are nine of us in the group, all with Ukrainian backgrounds. We got together because of this invasion. We decided we would try and do something worthwhile,” explained Dr Beiko, a Lecturer at University of Toronto. The Eyes on Ukraine project has already delivered several hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of medical/surgical eye equipment to ophthalmologists in Ukraine via partner clinics in Poland. This included 500 vials of silicone oil, surgical instruments, and emergency packs. He credited the generous donations of money and material that the programme received from the Canadian divisions of companies, including Labtician, Bausch + Lomb, Alcon, Zeiss, Aurolab, and Epsilon. The Canadian effort is part of a growing coalition of ophthalmology groups sending aid to Ukraine. “We’ve been in touch with the ESCRS from the beginning. We have been letting them know what we’re sending, and we have been coordinating our efforts,” Dr Beiko emphasised. georgebeiko@hotmail.com

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