Orthopaedic Bone Fixators for Front-Line Hospitals

As part of an ongoing USF Australia project providing specific end-to-end humanitarian aid, we are fundraising to enable the manufacturing and supply of surgical bone fixation devices to front-line hospitals in Ukraine. These orthopaedic bone fixators are manufactured in Ukraine, supporting the local economy and help to save injured limbs from amputation.

In November 2022, our CEO, Natalia Pastushenko, first travelled to Dnipro to meet with the administrators and head surgeon of the Military Medical Clinical Centre of the Eastern region of Ukraine. This is the main regional hospital hub receiving traumas from across the front-line. During discussions, Natalia identified the specific critical requirement for bone fixation devices in complex limb traumas, and that there was a severe shortage. Natalia subsequently located a Ukrainian manufacturer of high-quality orthopaedic devices, HB Ortho based in Mukachevo, whom she later visited in early 2023 to ensure capacity and quality of supply.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, USF Australia was able to purchase the first shipment of 60 bone fixators from HB Ortho, which were manufactured and delivered directly to the Dnipro Regional Military Hospital on 18 April 2023. Our CEO travelled back to Dnipro in 2023 to ensure delivery of the fixators and confirm their use in limb traumas at the regional medical centre.

SENSITIVE CONTENT - HB Ortho bone fixation devices in use to treat front-line limb traumas

USF Australia is continuing to fundraise for this project throughout 2023 thanks to the generosity and dedication of runners in the 2023City2Surf, Sydney Marathon and Nike Melbourne Running Festival, who are enabling the manufacturing of subsequent shipments of critical bone fixators to the front-line Dnipro Regional Military Hospital.