Helping children get the meds they need to fight cancer
Why it matters
Every year more than 27,000 children with cancer receive their treatment in Russian hospitals no matter what is happening in the country and the world. The project Meds4Kids emerged thanks to the experience of Podari Life (USA) to provide young cancer patients in Russian hospitals with medications that are not available in Russia and have no Russian equivalent.
We pay for medications directly against the invoice of the supplier. It takes an average of 2 days to receive payment from the EU- or US-based bank account, while payments from Russia can easily take 7 banking days.
Due to changing sanctions regulations, foreign medical suppliers prefer to minimize the risks and avoid trade with Russian entities. Working with foreign charities will exclude these risks whatsoever.
Persons of the project
About us
Breaking down borders to help children together.
Meds4Kids - an international project procuring foreign medications for children in Russia, responds to the challenges of the new times. The present-day political and economic environment has had a negative impact on medical supply operations. It has been more difficult, time-consuming and expensive to deliver medications from Europe to Russia. But together we can overcome all borders and help children who are fighting cancer - right now. Only by working together as a team can we break down these barriers in aid of children battling cancer.
Podari Life carry out this project in collaboration with the Podari Zhizn Foundation ("Подари Жизнь").
Podari Life carry out this project in collaboration with the Podari Zhizn Foundation ("Подари Жизнь").
The Podari Life Inc. Foundation was founded in the US in 2015 aiming to leverage American medical expertise in cancer therapy and to fundraise for foreign medications necessary for cancer treatment. Other Podari.Life Inc. programmes include professional training and education for pediatric oncologists and paying for the costs associated with working with the Stefan Morsch Foundation, one of Europe's largest bone marrow donor registries. Over the years, the value of the programs implemented by the charity exceeded $2,000,000.
Podari Life is sister charity of Podari Zhizn, a leading Russian foundation helping children with oncological and haematological diseases since 2006. Through the charities’ collaboration, , purchasing and delivery of foreign medications from the West countries to Russia has been simplified and streamlined. See "How the project works" for more details).
For more about the charities, their reports and contact details follow the links : Podari Life, Podari Zhizn.
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How it works
Meds4Kids assists in purchasing life-saving medications from the Western suppliers for children with cancer and serious blood disorders to support their treatment in Russian hospitals.
We receive an application from a Russian hospital
We buy the drug from a European supplier
We send the drug by a transport company to a Russian hospital for a child
Determining patients needs
Foreign charities can offer more effective solutions to the problem
Determining patients needs
A Board of paediatric oncologists and medical experts reviews every application for medical support to determine the most appropriate treatment for each individual case. Once the hospital’s request to import the prescribed medication is approved by the Russian Ministry of Health, an application for funding goes to the Podari Zhizn Foundation in Russia. Podari Zhizn in its turn, coordinates payment with the Meds4Kids partner charities, Gift of Life in the UK and Podari Life in the USA. Following this, the medication supplier based in Europe or other Western counties is paid by the invoice in foreign currencies using the funds raised by Meds4Kids. Our logistics partners, currently DHL/Deutsche Post, ensure the medication’s cross-border delivery to the hospitals as well as custom clearance in Russia, upholding all transportation conditions. The delivery costs to Russia are covered by Podari Zhizn as local expenses.
Foreign charities can offer more effective solutions to the problem
Speed: twhile the need for life-saving foreign medications is often immediate, international payments from Russia have been critically delayed recently;
Cost: with volatile exchange rates and hefty transfer fees, paying for medications from Russia can be prohibitively expensive;
Unavailability of medications: these foreign meds are not available in Russia and must be sourced from European suppliers for each cancer patient individually;
Risk minimisation: due to the sanctions restrictions, European and the US pharmaceutical suppliers are reluctant to engage in direct trade with Russian entities; trading with foreign charities eliminates these concerns.
Disclaimer: The Meds4Kids project never transfers any monetary funds to Russia. Instead, we solely facilitate the provision of foreign medications to Russian hospitals.
Cost: with volatile exchange rates and hefty transfer fees, paying for medications from Russia can be prohibitively expensive;
Unavailability of medications: these foreign meds are not available in Russia and must be sourced from European suppliers for each cancer patient individually;
Risk minimisation: due to the sanctions restrictions, European and the US pharmaceutical suppliers are reluctant to engage in direct trade with Russian entities; trading with foreign charities eliminates these concerns.
Disclaimer: The Meds4Kids project never transfers any monetary funds to Russia. Instead, we solely facilitate the provision of foreign medications to Russian hospitals.
Number of vials
we paid for in 2024:
Defitelio
Foscavir
Cidofovir
>100
>500
children
need our help every year
is necessary to buy medicines every year
thousand dollars
44
Eto-GRY
Also paid for:
89
Uromitexan
19
Desferal
1679
Mesna
16
Idarubicin
28
Fasturtec
The medications we need the most
In pediatric oncology, managing complications and side effects of treatment is as crucial as combating the cancer itself. More often than not these adverse effects pose a direct life threat. To help young cancer patients with such conditions, Meds4Kids is dedicated to securing a monetary reserve for purchasing some critical medications which have no local registration in Russia, lack any local alternatives, and remain unavailable in Russia for purchase:
Defitelio
Foscavir
Cidifovir
Initiating Defitelio therapy promptly for children with severe hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) has proved to dramatically reduce post-transplant mortality rates. In those cases where the risk of VOD is exceedingly high, Defitelio is prescribed as a vital component of preventative therapy. The price of one vial of Defitelio is 566 euro.
Following bone marrow transplantation, patients are highly susceptible to viral infections, even those typically innocuous to healthy people. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one such common and serious concern. With limited effective treatments available in Russia, such as ganciclovir, which often proves inadequate, European-supplied Foscavir can be a critical alternative with 90% effectiveness against moderate viral infection and 66% against severe viral infection. The price of one vial of Foscavir is 270 euro.
This medication plays an integral part in curing patients with cytomegalovirus and adenovirus infections. It leads to clinical improvement in 80% of cases involving severe viral infections. To enhance patient tolerance, Probenecid, another medication not registered in Russia, is occasionally employed to mitigate Cidofovir's toxicity. The price of one vial of Cidofovir is 1,305 euros, Probenecid - 70 euros.
Help now
Multi-currency payments are available on the site. A tax deduction is possible for US taxpayers.
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