Donors give life to children. Charitable Foundation for Helping Children “Give Life

On November 26, the Podari Zhizn Foundation celebrated its 10th anniversary. The main achievement of the foundation over the years is more than 35,000 children who have received assistance. Ekaterina Chistyakova, director of the foundation, told Philanthropist about other big and small victories of the Podari Zhizn team.

The Gift of Life Foundation was created to help children with cancer. Most children recover from cancer. Of the three and a half thousand of those who annually develop cancer in the country, 700-800 children die. The rest are recovering, and perhaps even more children could recover. Our modest goal is to ensure that not a single child dies because there is not enough money for treatment, donated blood, or support. Everything we have been doing for 10 years has been consistently moving towards this goal. We are trying to ensure that all cancer treatment technologies that appear in the world appear in Russia as well.

Modern types of treatment

We have spent a lot of time on regulating the procedure for importing medicines that are not registered in Russia. Previously, they had to be smuggled in from abroad, now we have ensured that a line appears in the law on the circulation of medicines, allowing the import of such drugs for personal use. There are MIGB-therapy technologies for the treatment of children with neuroblastomas. Previously, this type of treatment could only be obtained abroad. Now, with our help, the radiopharmaceutical necessary for this is being delivered from abroad to the Russian Scientific Center for Roentgen Radiology. Together with the doctors of the Center for Pediatric Hematology named after Dmitry Rogachev, we bring new technologies and new medicines from the West. With our support, the doctors of the Center have the opportunity to study, attend conferences and foreign internships, invite foreign specialists to yourself. But our goal is to spread these technologies to regional children's oncology clinics. We have the Far Regions program, when the doctors of the Center. Dmitry Rogachev travel to different regions and give lectures in local clinics.

Regional centers and transplantation

Our new project, which just launched this year, aims to increase the availability of bone marrow transplants for children with cancer. According to experts, 800 children in the country need this type of treatment, and only about 400 receive bone marrow transplantation, because there are not enough beds that are adapted for this. Now we are working with Yekaterinburg, where it has been operating for 10 years regional office bone marrow transplant. Only children from Sverdlovsk region. But the clinic has the opportunity to accept more children for treatment. Since the summer of this year, thanks to the support of our foundation, children from the Crimea, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk have received treatment there, and there will still be children who could not wait for queues in federal centers. We are also re-equipping this clinic in Yekaterinburg, because the equipment that was installed 10 years ago is starting to break down. We hope that by 2018, when we will start working with children from other regions in Yekaterinburg, this clinic will receive state funding to treat children from all over the country. At the same time, we are closely cooperating with the Krasnoyarsk Territory, we want to build a bone marrow transplantation department in the city and train Krasnoyarsk doctors for this work.

Why exactly Krasnoyarsk?

We looked at the map, and it became quite obvious to us that it was wrong to make transplant centers for one region.

Because, for example, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, only 6 children per year will need this type of treatment. This means that doctors will not have them on stream, doctors will not be able to practice the skill. And it's just not efficient even from the point of view of spending money to buy expensive equipment because of six people. But it is very correct to create inter-regional centers. Up to 50 people could receive assistance there annually. We have selected several areas that are well connected different types transport with neighboring regions, and sent letters there asking if any of the doctors would like to become our partners in this project. Yekaterinburg and Krasnoyarsk had an opportunity for this. There is simply a clinic in Yekaterinburg that, due to bureaucratic problems, cannot accept children from other regions, while Krasnoyarsk has very good blood services, laboratories, and hospitals. They only need to be tightened up, trained, re-equipped, reconstructed in one of the hospital departments, and the project can be launched.

In the south, there are two regions that could take on the development of bone marrow transplantation when new hospital buildings are built. When the corps appear, we will return to interacting with these regions.

Equipment and preparations

I recently looked at my old records. Now it is very clear that medical situations that were hopeless 10 years ago can now be resolved.

Now we would save those children who could not be helped before.

World medicine has stepped forward, and the Gift of Life Foundation has helped Russian doctors keep up with progress. Unfortunately, the state machine is swinging very slowly, money is allocated for something new far from immediately, as soon as this new one appears. For example, now on Russian market In the 1990s, the modern drug "Adcetris" for the treatment of lymphomas arrived, which previously could only be bought abroad. He did not enter this year and - it is already clear - in next year will not be included in the list of essential medicines. This means that its purchases for public money will be carried out in a minimal amount, and this is a very expensive medicine. Thanks to the support of our foundation and our colleagues, this drug will be available to patients who cannot be helped in any other way. Another challenge for us is the equipment of hospitals. The healthcare modernization program took place 10 years ago. It is clear that the equipment is now starting to fail. Some we repair, some we buy again. For example, in Yekaterinburg, where we are developing bone marrow transplantation to neighboring regions, infusion pumps, devices that drip chemotherapy into the blood, failed. We have replaced them.

The same situation is in St. Petersburg at the Raisa Gorbacheva Clinic of Hematology and Transplantology. We buy infusion pumps and vital signs monitors there. There are also such devices - analyzers for the content of pharmaceuticals in the blood. A very important thing that allows you to prevent the death of a patient from an overdose of chemotherapy drugs.

For devices that were produced 10 years ago, there are no longer spare parts and consumables. They became unusable. We receive applications from hospitals and replace these analyzers within a year. There is not enough budget money for the re-equipment of state clinics in terms of purchasing equipment. Even in order to maintain the existing level of treatment, let alone move forward, this charitable assistance is needed.

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Blood donation

In 2003, I unexpectedly found out for myself that in Moscow there is a Russian Children's Clinical Hospital (RCCH) for non-residents, where children from all over Russia come. These children need daily blood transfusions. In Moscow, children and their parents have no one who could be asked to donate blood. And there were no donors in the blood transfusion department either.

Now more than 20 donors donate blood in this hospital every day, but then no one donated blood. Moms put up ads, paid money to hospital guards to donate blood. Of course, there was still not enough blood.

This was the first colossal problem that we undertook to solve. First, we were looking for donors for specific patients from the RCCH. They wrote on Internet forums, with the consent of the abbots, posted announcements in churches, asked relatives, friends, and acquaintances. Then the Donors to Children group was formed, which gave rise to the Give Life Foundation. We quickly realized that donors could be attracted, but they don't like blood service institutions, they don't like standing in lines. And the attitude of doctors to them as to expendable material is also not pleasant. Doctors then were determined to receive paid donors, who were ready to endure rudeness and inconvenience for the promised 1000 rubles.

It became clear that paid donation not only did not solve all problems, but reduced the quality of blood components, because a paid donor was not ready to announce that he had, for example, unprotected sex. By that time, the whole world had long switched to the rails of gratuitous voluntary donation.

We appealed both to the blood service and to journalists. Then it was generally very difficult to get to the media with information about blood donation. We tried to attract donors through TV channels, through newspapers, but they told us that there is no blood for the sick - this is not news, but snow fell in Moscow in winter - this is news.

But time passed, and the situation changed. We managed to explain to the public that donors do not lie on the shelves, that if each of us does not come to donate blood, then someone else will certainly die. After the problem was recognized at the public level, it turned out to work with the Ministry of Health.

As a result, in 2012 the law on blood donation was rewritten and the blood service in the country was reorganized. This gave a chance for recovery not only to our children, in the end, the modernization of the blood service helped a lot of people.

Before the adoption of this law, there was such a “hunger” in Russia, when operations were postponed and patients died because there was no blood for transfusion. Now the situation has changed, and I believe that this is our great and important achievement.

Palliative care

Unfortunately, not all of our children recover and survive. We have a palliative care project. We help those children who cannot be cured. We know exactly how the last months and days of the life of our wards are passing, what kind of support they need. We know that in October 7 of our children died, in September 9 children, and how it happened.

Many years ago, we thought that if a child was declared incurable and discharged home, then some kind of help would be provided to him somewhere. He was leaving for his hometown, and after a while we found out or did not find out that he had died. How this happened was unknown. Until a certain point.

There was such a boy, Zhora Vinnikov, who was dying in Moscow. And everyone knew about him. He died without anesthesia. Our first director Galya Chalikova tried very hard to help him, but nothing happened.

It became clear what a tragedy it is to endure severe oncological pain when it hurts everywhere: not a tooth, not an arm, but the whole body. We had to get to work.

Galya did not have time to finish what she started, she died, and the problem of pain relief fell to me. At first it turned out to achieve understanding of the authorities and the public. Because five years ago it was impossible to explain to representatives of the Ministry of Health that there is a child who is not anesthetized, that this is a problem that must be solved and is not being solved. While they refused to help get painkillers, the children continued to die in terrible agony. We had a long and hard work in the Council under the Government of Russia on issues of guardianship in the social sphere.

As a result, the Government approved a roadmap for the availability of pain relief. She included the most different questions: there is no required dosage form, which means that our industry must produce it, the path of the drug from the manufacturer to the pharmacy and the patient is too complicated and bureaucratic - we need to simplify it.

Some of the problems have already been fixed. An anesthetic drug for a child can be prescribed by his local pediatrician. The appointment is valid not for 5 days, but for 15. They began to purchase more non-invasive dosage forms, that is, tablets, patches. Because if the morphine is injectable, the shots have to be given every four hours, and some kids are even more afraid of the injections than they are of the pain of cancer. We had such a boy in Tula. He was in a lot of pain, but he was crying and didn't want an injection. Fortunately, we were able to help him, and in the end, the child was put on an anesthetic plaster. There is hot line Roszdravnadzor, which helps patients get prescriptions for drugs in cases where doctors unjustifiably refuse to prescribe. But unfortunately, there are still many problems. As a rule, district pediatricians do not know how to prescribe narcotic pain relief to children. We have to send a doctor from a Moscow clinic for a joint examination with a local doctor. At least once a month, one of the children needs the intervention of Roszdravnadzor, because, for bureaucratic reasons, doctors refuse to prescribe the drug: either they don’t know where to get the prescription, or something else. In general, the situation is improving, but only 20% of those who need it still receive adequate pain relief in the country.

Public attention to the problems of sick children

The main achievement of the Podari Zhizn Foundation is to convey to everyone and everyone the information that childhood cancer is curable.

When we came to the hospitals, it was believed that the treatment of cancer in a child was hopeless, no need to donate money, no need to help, they would die anyway. Now, if not everyone, then many people know that childhood cancer is curable, and now people are much more willing to help. What we have been doing for 10 years is not useless, and, of course, we need the help of both society and the state. First, donations. Secondly, children need blood transfusions. Imagine a child is lying, he has no strength, feels nauseous, sleepy. They transfused the erythrocyte mass - where did it come from! I want to jump and jump. Or the bleeding won't stop. Well, nothing can be done when a person does not have their own cells responsible for blood clotting. Once - donor platelets were transfused, and everything passed before our eyes. The magic thing is blood, it really saves lives! We call on everyone who is healthy, who has no contraindications, to become donors. We always need volunteers. We welcome those who help pro bono. I myself personally communicate with lawyers who help us read existing laws, prepare bills, look for ideas on how to correct laws, orders, government decrees so that help for children becomes more accessible.

Reputation of the NPO

When the Podari Zhizn Foundation solves one problem, it sees that ten more unsolved ones appear, and this is the reason why we have grown so much in ten years.

When we provided one department of the Russian Clinical Children's Hospital with blood donors, it turned out that there are three more departments that also need blood transfusions. When we learned how to buy medicines for this hospital, it turned out that there were not enough medicines for other hospitals and other children, and not only in Moscow.

Unfortunately, the problem we are dealing with - pediatric oncology - is very big. We are solving it gradually, we have really done a lot.

Cancer care has become more accessible, there is already a whole army of children who live thanks to the fact that someone helped, someone donated blood, donated money, just supported in time and did not let them fall into depression. But large unsolved problems remain, and the larger the tasks we take on, the more people needed to solve them. In addition, I consider it very important in the reputation of our foundation, at least in working with government bodies, high level of expertise and responsibility. I somehow had to hear a remark about our foundation, that if Podari Zhizn raised a problem, then it really exists. You cannot close your eyes, say that there is no problem, that this is not serious. For 10 years, everyone has become convinced that if we raise a question, it means that we have conducted our research, found out how things are, talked to doctors, read the legislation. We are responsible for all our words and requests. Of course, we are very lucky that the famous actors Dina Korzun, Chulpan Khamatova and Artur Smolyaninov are with us. Their fame allows them to open many doors. But what helps us even more is how involved Dina, Chulpan and Artur are in our work. Chulpan comes, brings new projects, joins the work. Her willingness to participate, help, go to meetings and ask for money is no less important than her big name.

Third sector in Russia

We see our mission primarily in growing the anti-cancer NPO sector. We have in touch about 50 foundations from different regions of Russia, which in one way or another help children with cancer at home. They can always contact us for advice. Once a year, we hold seminars for anti-cancer NGOs, where we try to share our experience and provide a platform for them to exchange their own methods. We invite business trainers to these seminars. They teach nkoshnikov who created their funds simply because it was impossible not to create, become professionals.

We believe that the credibility of the sector largely depends on the professionalism of those who work in this sector.

Foundation Patients

The fund was created out of necessity, when it became clear that we needed to open a current account, that our volunteer efforts were completely insufficient to help everyone, and that volunteering became ineffective. We started working with patients of the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital, then patients from the Center for Radiology and the Burdenko Research Institute of Neurosurgery joined. Now the Moscow Regional Oncology Center, the Morozov Hospital and many clinics in the regions are with us. We accept applications from all cities and villages of Russia. Every month, more than 100 children receive support through targeted assistance alone, not to mention the drugs that we purchase for hospitals.

10 years have passed, and somehow it suddenly turned out that there is great amount young people - some became mothers and fathers - those who were once sick and recovered. Among them are those who work in our fund. They survived, recovered and are happy. For us, this is the best gratitude.

The fact that someone became a lawyer, someone a programmer, someone is studying to be a logistics specialist, and someone gave birth to a daughter, is such Feedback gives a sense of the meaning of their work.

There was no other fund, but there was such a boy, his name was Seryozha Rogozhin. Then he was, of course, a boy, now he is an uncle. When he entered the hospital, he needed a blood transfusion. Group - the fourth positive, rare. It was necessary that every day or every other day donors donate blood for Serezha. The doctor called me on Friday and asked me to look for donors. I say: “How much and by what time do you need it?” "We should live until Monday." Seryozha was admitted to the hospital at the beginning of December, around this time, he was very heavy, lying and literally dying. New Year he met already sitting in a wheelchair. Then he survived, recovered and got up, went to his place in the Ivanovo region, now he works as a truck driver. Amazing transformation, amazing. There is another boy, Seryozha Svyatkin. He spent four years in the hospital, the treatment went on and on, but the disease still did not respond to the drugs, and the doctors then decided to give him a bone marrow transplant. Serezha survived the transplantation, but severe complications developed, such that cells had to be taken from him and transported to Italy. There, the doctors were able to incite Serezha's lymphocytes to the infection that had attacked him. From Italy, we returned them to Russia, poured them into Serezha, and - lo and behold! - he is still with us, lives in Tolyatti, rides a motorcycle and is going to move to St. Petersburg. We recently met with some of our former guys, and there was a feeling that our conversation with them was interrupted yesterday, we just resumed it. They are so their own, so dear and so incredible.

Another enchanting post has appeared in the LJ top. Here it is - http://bugur.livejournal.com/321116.html
Some little-known blogger is quite hard on Chulpan Khamatova, reproaching her for the unruly spending of the Give Life fund.
Let's understand how he manipulates our consciousness and facts.

Trick 1: Attributing non-existent facts
Firstly, thanks to skillful maneuvering in the media field, all Russians believe that the center on Leninsky was built by Chulpan and her foundation. I'm blowing you for breakfast! The Foundation spent 400 million rubles on the center. In terms of dollars, somewhere around 13 million.
In fact, nowhere is it said that the fund was built by Chulpan. On her official website http://www.khamatova.ru/?i=202 it is written in black and white:
The goals of the foundation:
Assistance construction and equipping of a new modern oncohematological center and assistance to other children's clinics in this area
Nowhere is it said that the center was built purely with the fund's money.

Trick 2: Deliberate Logic Error by Generalization
For reference: the Raisa Gorbacheva Foundation built exactly the same center in St. Petersburg. Surely, there was also the main participation of the state. But for some reason I don’t hear the ceremonial collective praises to the family of the President of the USSR, and Mikhail Sergeyevich himself somehow doesn’t act in Putin’s election videos.
The author gives a comparison with another fund - the fund of Raisa Gorbacheva. But here's the question - and why should the average person have the same perception of these two funds? A scandal has now erupted around Chulpan, the press is full of all sorts of "revelations" and rumors, and there was any news from the Gorbacheva Foundation?
The second curious fact is that the Chulpan Foundation works in Russia, and is actively working. It is their advertisements that you see in the subway and in magazines. And now attention - the Raisa Gorbacheva Foundation works for the West and the USA. They have an official website at English language and even there is no translation into Russian - http://www.raisafund.org.uk/
That is, the trick is to expose the Chuplan Foundation to blame for the fact that they are talking about her, but not about the Raisa Foundation.

Trick 3: Misrepresenting the facts
I honestly studied two monthly income reports. More than half of transfers from Sberbank. Mostly for a ruble-kopeck - it looks like this is the "Give Life" card. The system is as follows: for each of your purchases, 0.3% is charged, Sber doubles this amount, and everything goes to the fund. According to my estimates, at least a third of the money the fund receives from Sberbank, the state bank. Many anonymous contributions through Sberbank. Whether there are charges for them, I do not know.
Any charitable foundation would be swollen with happiness if a third of its budget was financed by the state bank.
Well, let's check the "honesty" of studying the reports. We open the report for November 2011 - http://www.podari-zhizn.ru/sites/default/files/reports/noyab11_na_sayt.xls
First sheet (01.11-15.11). Total amount: 28,535,711.79. I turn on the filter for anonymous transfers - in the amount of 2,213,731.99. I turn on the calculator, divide one by the other, I get 7,75% - this is exactly the contribution of anonymous donors to the total amount of funds received in the first half of November. Feel the difference? The author claims 33% percent of transfers from Sberbank, but in reality they are only 7.75%, of which the bulk are large transfers for round amounts (15,000, 20,000, etc.), which by no means could be made through the Give Life card.
Similar calculations for the second half of the month: total - 24,535,726.16, anonymous - 2,291,398.73. As a percentage - 9,3%
That is, this is simply a manipulation of facts, but in fact a deception of readers.

Trick 4: substitution of concepts
Any charitable foundation would be swollen with happiness if a third of its budget financed state bank.
Well, as we have already found out, we are talking about 33%, and about 7-10%, this time. Secondly, even if we assume that all these are transfers through cards, then Sberbank co-finances only half, that is, no more than 5% in the end.
The author not only lies to us in numbers, but also deliberately produces substitution of concepts, substituting instead of "third transfers comes from the state bank" with the phrase "third funding comes from the state bank.
Lies are obvious, comments are superfluous.

I’ll go over the rest of the text of the post later, it’s no less funny.

update: attentive user

Established on November 26, 2006 by actresses Dina Korzun and Chulpan Khamatova. Is a legal entity.

The fund has no branches, departments and representatives in the regions of Russia. There are two partner funds, one registered in London - Gift of Life, and the second in the USA - Podari.Life.

Initiative group "Donors for children"

Volunteer association, which does not have a permanent membership, legal entity, current accounts and online wallets.

Our tasks

• fundraising for the treatment and rehabilitation of children with oncological and hematological diseases;
• assistance to oncology and hematology clinics treating children and young adults;
• attracting public attention to the problems of sick children;
• promoting the development of free blood donation;
• providing social and psychological assistance to sick children;
• facilitating the work of volunteer groups at children's oncohematological clinics.

our history

The Foundation did not start from scratch. Its first employees were those who for many years, as volunteers, helped doctors treat children, and children get treated. Once upon a time, the concepts of "pity, mercy, kindness" were considered manifestations of weakness and it was not customary to talk about them out loud. Of course, there have always been people who helped their relatives and friends, but charity as a movement - numerous and aimed at helping complete strangers in trouble - there was no such charity.

Official site Chulpan Khamatova Foundation "Give Life":

The founders of the fund are Dina Korzun and Chulpan Khamatova.

V board of trustees and the Board of the Foundation included artists, doctors, philanthropists and volunteers of the Donors to Children initiative group.

Under the tutelage of the foundation there are clinics where children with cancer are treated:
Center for Pediatric Hematology. Dmitry Rogachev (FNKTs DGOI)
City Clinical Hospital named after S. P. Botkin
Morozov Children's Clinical Hospital
Moscow Regional Oncological Dispensary
Research Institute. N. N. Burdenko
SPC "Solntsevo"
Russian Children's Clinical Hospital
Center for X-ray Radiology (RNTsRR).

OBJECTIVES OF ESTABLISHING THE FUND

Attracting public attention to the problems of children with oncological and hematological diseases

Assistance in the construction and equipping of a new modern oncohematological center and assistance to other children's clinics in this area

Providing social and psychological assistance to children with cancer, as well as finding funds for their treatment and rehabilitation

Development of free blood donation

The Foundation attracts artists, musicians and volunteers to participate in charity events, parties and auctions, or events held for children on the premises of the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital.

FUND DETAILS

Charitable Foundation assistance to children with oncohematological and other serious diseases "Give Life" was established on November 26, 2006 by actresses Dina Korzun and Chulpan Khamatova. It is a non-membership non-profit organization.

Foundation tasks:

— raising funds for the treatment and rehabilitation of children with oncological and hematological diseases;
- assistance to oncology and hematology clinics where children and young adults are treated;
— attracting public attention to the problems of sick children;
– promoting the development of free blood donation;
— provision of social and psychological assistance to sick children;
— assistance to the work of volunteer groups at children's oncohematological clinics.

According to the charter, the Gift of Life Foundation primarily provides assistance in paying for diagnostics and treatment, in purchasing medicines, medical supplies and equipment for children and young adults (under 25 years old) suffering from oncological and oncohematological diseases.

The Foundation accepts applications from doctors, patients, their parents or legal guardians of patients. The need for treatment, for which the Podari Zhizn Foundation is asked to pay, must be confirmed by official medical documents. The Fund does not provide assistance in paying for treatment by alternative medicine methods. Also, the fund can pay for the treatment of foreign citizens if they are treated outside of Russia.

The fund has no branches, departments and representatives in the regions of Russia. There is a partnership fund registered in London - giftoflife.

Several times a year, the fund organizes large-scale promotions. Since 2005, a concert "Give Life" has been held annually, timed to coincide with international day protection of children, traditional exhibitions of children's creativity are held.

Twice a year, the foundation celebrates Donor Day: April 20 is National Donor Day and June 14 is International Donor Day.

In the summer of 2010 and 2011, the World Games of Winners were held in Moscow with the support of the Give Life Foundation. Sports competitions were arranged specifically for children who had overcome a serious illness.

Fund management bodies: board, fund council, director, board of trustees.

The chairman of the board of the fund is Mikhail Maschan.