What an evening it was! Artists played for transplantation

On the concert stage, two people sing, one holds a microphone. In the background is a large screen with a graphic of a red heart and the words “LEAVE YOUR HEART ON EARTH.” On the left, a drummer behind a transparent cover, on the right, a guitarist. The stage is dark, illuminated by spotlights.
On June 24 we were able to participate in an amazing musical and charity event “Artists for Transplantation - Leave Your Heart on Earth”. Kayah, Natalia Szroeder, Dawid Kwiatkowski, Grubson, Tomasz Organek, Nita, the band Bios and the band HLA4TRANSPLANT sang on stage at the COS Torwar hall. All this to promote the idea of organ transplantation and raise funds for the unique heart transport equipment known as “Heart in the Box.” This was not just a concert, but proof that music unites people who together can change the world!

The “Leave Your Heart on Earth” Foundation for Transplantation, whose founder and president is Dr. Zygmunt Kaliciński, a cardiac surgeon, transplantologist from the Department of Heart, Thoracic and Transplant Surgery UCC MUW, and leader of the HLA4TRANSPLANT team, invited to the concert.

- Every single ticket, every single presence, every single “yes, I can be a donor” is priceless, because it saves lives. Because transplantation is directly saving lives - said Dr. Kaliciński in opening the event.

What could you listen to during the concert? For example, Nita performed a song from the movie Vaiana2 “Nowy Ląd,” Organek performed the popular “Mississippi w ogniu,” and Kayah got everyone dancing to the songs ‘Supermenka’ and “Testosteron.” The artists were accompanied by a band led by Kacper Stolarczyk. The hostess of the evening was Gabi Drzewiecka.

The event was held under the patronage of the Minister of Health, the Mayor of the City of Warsaw, the Marshal of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship, Poltransplant, the University Clinical Center MUW and the Rector of the Medical University of Warsaw.

- Today's event is a combination of music and fun with such pure goodness and support for noble ideas. Thank you very much for being here and supporting transplantation, and from our side we will do our best to ensure that it continues to develop and that we save more lives - said Prof. Rafał Krenke to the concert participants.

Prof. Mariusz Kuśmierczyk, Head of the Department of Heart, Thoracic and Transplant Surgery UCC MUW, Prof. Michał Grąt, Vice Rector for International Relations, Development and Promotion, National Consultant in Clinical Transplantation, as well as Marzena Kowalczyk, Director of UCC MUW, also gave thanks.

Organ donation is an act of the highest form of help

During the event, many important words were said to raise public awareness and promote the idea of organ donation. This was said, both by the invited artists, the families of patients present at the event, whose lives were saved by transplantation, and by the invited Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna.

- Every event for transplantology is, I wanted to say “worth its salt,” but it is actually worth the weight of life. And I thank you very much that you do this - said Izabela Leszczyna - I thank our fantastic doctors, transplantologists, because without them this miracle of offering another life would be impossible.

The minister also thanked all donors who chose to offer the part of themselves to another human being, as well as the families of deceased donors.

- You have to be an extremely good person to be able to rise above your pain and think of others and do good in the most dramatic moment of life, losing a loved one.

Finally, she thanked the recipients for their “appetite for life, determination, and for simply wanting very much to live, and today you are witnesses to the fact that for transplantation it is really worth doing a lot.”

Rector Prof. Krenke conveyed to Minister Izabela Leszczyna the thanks of the MUW Senate for her support of transplantation in Poland.

Parents of children who were given the chance for a second happy life also spoke briefly about their experiences. This was possible thanks to the efforts of our transplantologists and the possibilities offered by the OCS Heart system, an innovative perfusion and monitoring system that allows the retrieved heart to be kept outside the body, in a metabolically active state, for up to 12 hours (called “Heart in the Box”).

- Transplantation is a miracle, because it is simply the transfer of life. And this miracle you see here on stage - said the mother of baby Cecilia - Let's talk about transplantation, because it's important for us to know that we can pass on life in this way.

The dad of teenage Oliwia, for whom the heart was transported from Lithuania to Warsaw using OCS Heart system, emphasized:

- It is thanks to people like you here that all this could work out. Oliwia is alive and we continue to be a happy family. Many thanks to all those who are committed to the idea of transplantation.

Each concert ticket sold was a financial contribution to the “Heart in the Box.”

Information on the first-ever use of the OCS Heart system in the history of Polish heart transplantation to transport an organ from donor to recipient
 

Photo: Dominika Scheifinger



 

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A woman holds a microphone and a blue folder with the logo of the Foundation for Transplantation. In the background is a large logo of the foundation and the words “Foundation for Transplantation Leave a Heart on Earth” in light blue on a dark background.
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On stage, two musicians. One plays a white keyboard with red elements, the other a black bass guitar. The background is dark, the stage illuminated with spot lights.
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