Relief operation for Ukraine organized by RWTH and Uniklinik gets into gear quickly

It was one of these snapshots that those present would never forget. No sooner than the aid convoy had delivered the supplies from Aachen to the Ukrainian doctors than news came through that the Russians had attacked the military base at Yavoriv, near L’viv. Just as they were setting out on the return journey, Professor Andrij Pich and those accompanying him were informed that the dressing materials and medication they had provided, such as morphine and antibiotics, could also be used for the wounded from this Russian attack.

Ukrainian-born Pich, a professor at the RWTH Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry and at DWI Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, is the initiator of the ‘RWTH and Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Help Ukraine’ relief operation. He has family and friends there, many of whom work in the medical sector and therefore know what is needed. The pharmacy of Uniklinik RWTH Aachen obtains the items most urgently needed in the Ukrainian clinics thanks to the donations for which appeals have been made for many weeks. As of April 22, 2022, more than 710,000 euros had been received as a result of the intitiative, including many private donations but also the proceeds of fundraising activities by schools and church groups, or through benefit concerts and many other activities.

‘This is a strong signal of solidarity with the people in Ukraine. We are delighted with this broad range of support, and our thanks go to all who have donated,’ stresses Professor Ulrich Rüdiger, Rector of RWTH. ‘This humanitarian catastrophe has particularly touched many people in our organization. We are grateful to all involved for coordinating the aid so quickly and so purposefully – a perfect example of successful teamwork,’ says Professor Thomas H. Ittel, Medical Director, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen.

Reports that get in close

The war was only a few days old when the relief operation was begun. Pich, 46, spent half of his life in Ukraine. ‘When I see what is happening to my people at the moment, I am devastated,’ he says. He quickly succeeded in recruiting comrades-in-arms at RWTH and Uniklinik and an account was opened for donations. The newspapers reported the initiative and broadcaster WDR invited the professor for a studio interview. When Pich recounted what he saw during his visit with the aid convoy and retold the stories he had heard from his Ukrainian friends and relatives, many of the listeners gulped more than once. These were reports that did not avoid the facts.

Now, 40-ton trucks carrying dressing material, medical equipment, and medicines set out from Aachen every week for the Polish-Ukrainian border. When RWTH professor Andrij Pich went with the first large aid convoy, the Ukrainian doctors told him that owing to lack of equipment, they were forced during operations to press wounds together with their bare hands. ‘It was very moving to see the doctors’ joy as they accepted the supplies,’ recounts Pich.