Page updated 25 April 2023
Concert in support of Saving Lives in Ukraine
Did you know that UCD is currently saving lives in Ukraine ?
The UCD Centre for Emergency Medical Sciences is providing lifesaving medicines and training for Ukrainian paramedics who are the front line of the war.
This is our opportunity as a UCD community to support this great initiative. The UCD Community Choir and guests are performing a concert to raise funds to send much needed medical support so more lives can be saved.
Please help us fundraise by attending the concert or making a donation.
To buy tickets
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To make a donation
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UCD Centre for Emergency Medical Science (CEMS)
The UCD Centre for Emergency Medical Science has already trained 30 paramedics in Ukraine to deliver lifesaving treatment using TXA (tranexamic acid). Ukrainian authorities have now requested UCD CEMS to supply training to a further 50 paramedics. A 5-person UCS CEMS team will travel to Ukraine to:
- establish a “train the trainer programme” – both virtual and on-site
- provide a supply of standardised kits containing the equipment needed to deliver TXA
- provide other emergency pre-hospital kit and training as requested
- collect and evaluate feedback on TAX usage
More about the treatment & project
Analysis of trauma data shows that over a third of all deaths, and approximately 80% of all preventable war zone deaths are due to severe haemorrhage. It is possible to provide evidence-based, life-saving interventions in war zones which have a significant impact on preventing deaths – mainly as a result of better immediate haemorrhage control. A crucial intervention is the administration of tranexamic acid (TXA). While TXA is a safe and effective medicine, it must be delivered as early as possible by intravenous (IV) or intraosseous (IO) routes. IV access may prove very difficult to achieve in severely injured persons, IO access, however, can nearly always be achieved within 60-90 seconds of arriving paramedical staff who have been specially trained in this technique with the special equipment that is needed. It is important to note that these emergency interventions are to treat all casualties of the war both military and civilian.
In Ireland, advanced paramedics from all statutory ambulance services have been administering TXA for a decade, using both IV and IO routes. UCD CEMS has played a key national role in providing this training. However, it is important to note that the Ukrainian medical services do not currently have the training and equipment to deliver TXA for such injuries. UCD CEMS has been approached by Ukrainian authorities to assist in the establishment of a capability within Ukrainian medicine to deliver TXA treatment and to embed the capacity for cascade training.
The most significant impact will be the lives saved as a result of the use of TXA by 50 newly trained paramedics. In addition, the CEMS team will work with the Ukrainian authorities to use this project as a proof of concept, to persuade other countries with significant resources to support the widespread availability of TXA treatment across Ukraine, so that significantly more lives can be saved. It is also important to note that this project will provide invaluable research data on the effective use of TXA across a significant and varied patient cohort. This may in turn lead to improved treatment protocols for TXA usage and hence better outcomes, for future victims of severe haemorrhage, whether in war zones or normal contexts.
Ukraine Trauma Project – Steering Committee
Professor Gerry Bury
Professor of General Practice
UCD School of Medicine &
Director of UCD Centre for Emergency Medical Science
Dr Phil Darcy
Consultant in Emergency Medicine Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown
Mr Ben Heron
Advanced Paramedic Supervisor, National Ambulance Service
Associate Clinical Professor
UCD Centre for Emergency Medical Services
Mr Willie Howard
Advanced Paramedic Supervisor Pathfinder Service, National Ambulance Service
Assistant Clinical Professor
UCD Centre for Emergency Medical Services
Dr Chris Fitzpatrick
Clinical Professor UCD – Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Dr Katya Kachurets
General Practitioner
ICGP/HSE Clinical Lead in Ukrainian Response and Migrant Health Association of Ukrainians in Ireland
Dr Lyudmyla Zakharchenko Consultant Neonatologist/Paediatrician Rotunda Hospital
Association of Ukrainians in Ireland
Ms Eileen Bradish
Manager
UCD Centre for Emergency Medical Science