Irish Charity Issues Urgent Christmas Appeal After Saving Baby Born with Fatal Heart Defect

Chernobyl Children International, the Irish charity founded by Cork's Adi Roche, has launched an emergency Christmas appeal to fund lifesaving heart surgeries in Ukraine after saving baby Nestor, who was given just days to live. The charity warns that without urgent public support, more critically ill children will die before Christmas 2026.

This time last year, Nestor's parents were preparing for the unthinkable: they believed their newborn son, diagnosed before birth with a fatal congenital heart defect linked to the Chornobyl disaster, would spend his first Christmas in a Ukrainian graveyard. Instead, thanks to CCI's international cardiac surgeons, they will spend this Christmas cradling a thriving little boy in what they describe as their "Christmas miracle."

The surgery was extraordinary in its precision and urgency. Surgeons stopped Nestor's heart, placed him on bypass, and rebuilt its tiny chambers, giving him not only life but a future. Without CCI's intervention, he would have lived only days.

However, CCI has warned that without immediate public support, miracles like Nestor's will not be possible in 2026.

Adi Roche, CCI Founder and Voluntary CEO: "This Christmas, too many families are grieving babies who could have been saved. A newborn's first Christmas should never be their last. But without funding, more children with 'Chornobyl Heart' will die before next Christmas."

She continued: "We can save them, but only with your help. The people of Ireland have the power to turn heartbreak into hope."

The war in Ukraine has created a devastating surge in medical need. CCI reports a 55% increase in children presenting for urgent cardiac procedures, alongside a collapsing healthcare workforce and hospitals damaged or destroyed by targeted attacks. Despite these challenges, survival rates at St Nicholas' Hospital have improved by 39% thanks to CCI's training, equipment, and expertise on the ground.

To meet the rising tide of critically ill newborns, CCI urgently needs public support to fund four major cardiac surgery missions to Ukraine in 2026. These missions will directly save the lives of newborns and children with severe heart defects, train and upskill Ukrainian cardiac teams to create long-term sustainability, and deliver vital medical equipment to war-damaged hospitals.

Every donation this Christmas directly determines how many missions can proceed and how many babies will live long enough to see another Christmas.

For nearly 40 years, CCI's pioneering cardiac programme has saved the lives of over 4,200 children in Belarus and Ukraine. As the only NGO working with Chornobyl survivors recognised by the United Nations, and the lead organiser of the global 40th anniversary Chornobyl commemorations in 2026, CCI's commitment has never wavered.

However, the charity warns that commitment alone cannot save a child's life. Funding can.

To support CCI's Christmas appeal and help deliver more lifesaving missions in 2026, visit www.chernobyl-international.com.