Key points
- Cardiovascular surgeons at the Transplantology Center of the First Medical Association of Lviv have transplanted a heart into 18-year-old Maksym Kolos, the son of a Ukrainian soldier.
- The donor was a 23-year-old man who died at the Volyn Regional Clinical Hospital due to a brain hemorrhage – his organs saved the lives of four people.
- Maksym was diagnosed with heart failure caused by dilated cardiomyopathy – transplantation was the only chance for survival.
- A donor heart was found just 10 days after Maksym was placed on the waiting list.
- On the 10th day after the transplant, Maksym returned home to Slavske in the Lviv region.
Cardiovascular surgeons at the Transplantology Center of the First Medical Association of Lviv performed a heart transplant on 18-year-old Maksym Kolos, the son of a Ukrainian defender from Slavske in the Lviv region.
Before his illness, Maksym was a professional skier and snowboarder, and at the age of 16, he became a children’s coach at a ski resort. His father has been on the front lines since 2022.
Two months ago, the young man began to complain of severe shortness of breath and swelling of the limbs. Local doctors suspected myocarditis, but the treatment was ineffective, so the boy was sent to the Hospital of St. Panteleimon in Lviv.
After the examination, cardiologists diagnosed heart failure caused by dilated cardiomyopathy – the heart had stretched and could no longer fully pump blood. The only chance for salvation was a transplant, and Maksym was placed on the waiting list.
Within 10 days, a compatible donor appeared in Volyn – a 23-year-old man who died at the Volyn Regional Clinical Hospital due to a brain hemorrhage – his organs saved the lives of four patients.
Maksym’s father was supposed to return to Zaporizhzhia that day, but the commander allowed the soldier to stay with his son.
Lviv cardiologists successfully performed the transplant. On the 10th day after the operation, the young man returned home to Slavske. Maksym plans to continue his rehabilitation, return to sports, and start his own business.
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