More flights in the works to transport pediatric patients from Ukraine to Toronto

The non-profit organization that successfully transported two pediatric cancer patients from Ukraine to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children said their first mission has paved the way for additional flights.

“We're already working toward another flight,” said Brian MacDonald, executive director of Aman Lara – the organization that spearheaded this mission – in a news conference Thursday. The institution was established last summer to evacuate Afghans fleeing the Taliban.

“This first flight was a first step, and we're now seeking donations to build that airbridge to fund those flights to get the medical supplies across and get more children back to Canada.”

On Tuesday, SickKids announced that two pediatric cancer patients displaced by the war in Ukraine were set to arrive in Toronto this week. An Aman Lara spokesperson said they could not speak to the current condition of these children.

The first mission took 10 days to facilitate, MacDonald said. Now, their goal is to accelerate the mission’s turnaround time and ultimately, “unlock the potential to do it repeatedly at scale.”

At the moment, MacDonald said, Aman Lara is waiting to hear from a health-care clinic in Poland to find out if they have children that require medical attention in Canada. From there, they will determine where those children should be placed, based on their condition, whether that be at SickKids or another Canadian hospital.

“I'm confident that in the near future, some patients will be identified whose needs will be best met in Canada, when that moment comes, we are ready,” MacDonald said.

The first trip was made possible by a $200,000 donation from Bristol Gate Capital Partners CEO Richard Hamm. But now, Aman Lara is asking for smaller donations from the wider population.

“We've raised thousands of dollars to pay for the next plane. So we need the big corporate donors, but we also need individuals to come forward and donate to evacuations.ca,” MacDonald said.

The non-governmental organization has clarified that this mission is a 100 per cent private enterprise. Since the conflict presents a politically challenging situation, MacDonald said it’s largely up to organizations like Aman Lara to evacuate these children without escalating the conflict.