MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Four more Ukrainian children with cancer and their families arrived at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on Monday.
The group joins four other Ukrainian children and their family members who arrived at St. Jude on March 21.
The second group of patients range in age from 6 to 17 years old and will receive comprehensive medical care, housing, psychological support and counseling as they begin to rebuild their lives.
St. Jude is the first hospital in the U.S. to receive patients from Ukraine. To date, the cancer research hospital has helped more than 730 Ukrainian children move to other institutions across Europe, Canada and the U.S.
Hours after Russia invaded Ukraine, St. Jude Global, in partnership with ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude, began working through its global network of more than 182 institutions in 61 countries to move children with cancer across Ukraine to safety and continued care.
“My father, the tenth child of impoverished immigrants from Lebanon, founded St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 60 years ago around his belief that no child should die in the dawn of life. And he didn’t mean no American child. He meant no child, anywhere. I was deeply moved by the bravery of the Ukrainian mothers I met last week. Their babies are the reason we built this place,” said St. Jude National Outreach Director Marlo Thomas, daughter of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas.
On Friday, First Lady Jill Biden visited St. Jude to highlight programs and services that support pediatric cancer patients and their families and caregivers as part of the Biden Administration’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative.
During the next 48 hours, St. Jude said they will evaluate the patients and help families settle into its housing facilities and other services with the help of Ukrainian interpreters.
