Alexander Gladkov

[Sasha Pachev]

As many of you have noticed, the note about a Ukrainian hurdler Alexander Gladkov has been on the Featured Announcements on the blog for quite a while. A brief summary - he developed a kidney disease, and needs a kidney transplant. He was told by a German hospital that he would need 50,000 euro for the operation, which is much more than he and his family could possibly afford. To make matters worse, the illness took away his main source of income, which came from professional running. Maria, one of our bloggers, informed me about the situation a few months ago and asked if I could help. Unfortunately all I could do was raise awareness through the blog. I found out that transferring money from the US to the Ukraine is a fairly convoluted process, and could not figure out a sufficiently smooth process for US residents to be able to donate money to somebody in the Ukraine. I can very well understand why the barriers exists, but nevertheless it is frustrating.

I have also been thinking that perhaps there might be a better way to help. I am looking for suggestions from the combined wisdom of the bloggers. Can we get him into a US hospital that would do some charitable work? Can this be done for less than 50,000 euro? Is there perhaps an alternative way to treat his illness that eluded the attention of the doctors? What can we do?

[Maria Imas]

According to the latest information from Gladkov's camp, the price of the operation went up from 50000 euros to 250000 euros. The cause of the increase is unknown at this time, but the sum looks even more daunting than before  .

[Maria Imas]

I'm trying to find out what needs to be done to set up a legitimate Paypal account to collect donations for Alexander. Paypal doesn't deal with bank accounts in Ukraine, so existing account cannot be used directly on Paypal site. So far, Paypal's compliance department advised me that I can go ahead and set up a separate account and collect all the money on Gladkov's behalf. I have a problem with that, because I don't want this money go into my personal bank account and be considered my income.

What I would like to do, is set up something like "Alexander Gladkov's Medical Fund" with or without non-profit organization connected to it, so that Paypal will grant this organization and/or fund a non-profit status. I may be willing to administer the fund, but it has to be completely separate from me, and I should have no personal access to this money. I have no idea how to set such things up - I need legal consultation. Lawyers in London charge exorbitant fees, so it's not an option.

If someone has any knowledge how to go about this in US, please share. I know things may be different in UK, but I at least would like to know what the rules are in US, because US based fund is an option as well. It is a shame that many people cannot donate due to logistical constraints. Any information would be much appreciated. You can read all about Gladkov's situation at http://www.gladkov.org.ua/ (see English version), including information about existing accounts.

[Sasha Pachev]

I am rather surprised that we are not finding much wisdom on the blog regarding this matter. No comments from anybody except the two Russians on the blog.

[Lulu]

I've been thinking about this since it was originally posted, so here are the thoughts:

1. This is an overwhelming problem that cannot be solved by only the people on this blog. I really think this is a huge reason people are reluctant to get involved. Roughly 140 people have posted on their blog since the first of October (over a month ago). If every one of those people, and some are children, gave $50 dollars, that would only be $7,000 US dollars. This is not nearly enough money.

2. Many people are reluctant to give to funds that are not official nonprofits.

3. Of course, the obvious problem of the difficulty in logistics of giving.

So here are my suggestions:

Contact a relief agency that works in the area he lives in. Below are my suggestions in order of preference that I think they should be contacted.

1. Doctors without Borders
2. Partners in Health
3. World Vision

About Partners in Health, if they are working his area, even though he doesn't have AIDS or DRTB, they often take on cases such as his. The person to contact directly is Dr. Paul Farmer.

Then, ask the people on the blog to donate to the relief agency that has agreed to help him.

[Maria Imas]

Thanks Lulu! These are some good ideas. I will try to find contact info for Partners in Health if they have presence in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, a very hopeful update from Gladkov's site (please note, following references to "Sasha" mean Alexander Gladkov, not Sasha Pachev! Sasha is a Russian nickname for Alexander and is very commonly used by friends and relatives):

4.11.07. Great news! Thanks God, at last Sasha's got a real opportunity to come back to normal, full, healthy life. Ukrainian sport stars - Sergei Bubka, Klichko brothers and Andrey Shevchenko - agreed to finance a kidney transplantation! Most likely it will be held in Ukraine (Zaporoj'e) as German doctors denied to perform an operation for less that 250 000 euro. Money, given by these generous worldwide known sportsmen, will be transferred by cashless payment to a hospital's account. During these few months Sasha, his friend and relatives were in search of benefactors, and now they at last can start the negotiations with the Ukrainian hospital! Our part is to cover all necessary expenses including transportation, extra medical staff services, postoperative medical rehabilitation. Thanks to Your help, a part of this money has already been gathered! We are sincerely grateful to all of You for this! But this is still not enough. The exact sum will leak out during the medical treatment, the approximate - before the operation. The exact date is not yet fixed. We will keep you informed. So, dear friends, again and again we seek help, appealing to You. We will certainly be grateful even for an informational support - the more people know about Sasha, the more possibilities to gather a sum he needs appear. It is now when Sasha's got a real chance to survive, let us help him. Together, with God's help, we will make it!