Borys Todurov

Borys Todurov (; born 2 January 1965, Kyiv) is a Ukrainian cardiac surgeon, professor, honoured doctor of Ukraine, director of The Heart Institute, public figure, and blogger. He carried out the first heart transplant in Ukraine. He is an advocate of economics-based healthcare management and transplant science.

Biography

Borys Todurov was born in Kyiv on 2 January 1965. His father was Mikhail Ivanovich Todurov, who was an assistant locomotive driver. His mother was Nina Ivanovna Todurova, a rural doctor. Both were from Yalta village. his brother is Ivan Todurov. His wife is Olena Todurova, with two children, Mikhail and Natalia.

From 2000 to 2003, he was the Head of the Department of Transplantation and Heart Surgery with a group of extra corporeal technologies and biomaterials, Shalimov National Institute of Surgery and Transplantology, Kyiv

From 2003 to 2006, he was the Deputy Director for Transplantology, Shalimov National Institute of Surgery and Transplantology, Kyiv

From 2006 to 2008, he was Initiator and co-author of a project on construction of the most modern medical facility in Kyiv - the Kyiv City Heart Center.

From 2008 to 2013, he was the Head of City Clinical Hospital "The Kyiv Heart Center".

From 2013 to the present, he is the Director of The Heart Institute of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (formerly The Kyiv Heart Center), Kyiv.

From September 2016 to the present, he is the Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Roentgen-Endovascular and Extracorporeal Technologies of Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education.

In December 2016, he was recognised as the "Person of the Year" according to Novoye Vremya Magazine for saving lives and innovating in medicine.

In January 2017, he came under an information attack from a team carrying out efforts on behalf of acting Minister Ulyana Suprun. He received an invitation from two clinics from the European Union and one from Georgia to relocate the entire clinical team, but refused to leave Ukraine.

Activity as a doctor

Borys Todurov has 30 years of experience as a cardiac surgeon. During this time, he carried out more than 5 thousand surgical operations.

On 12 July 2016, Borys Todurov for the first time in Ukraine, conducted the implantation of an artificial heart. This cost of the device, reported to be EUR 120K, was covered by a German clinic though an installment plan to The Heart Institute, owing to Todurov's reputation amongst international cardiac surgeons. Part of the funds was collected at a charity race and through a crowdfunding platform.

There were no state funds spent to implement this innovation. Nevertheless, President Poroshenko in his New Year's greetings speech noted the artificial heart transplantation as one of the top country's achievements in 2016.

Prevention Boris Todurov is an active blogger on the topic of cardiovascular prevention. Since 2016, he manages his own YouTube channel, as well as a column at the tabloid Ukrainska Pravda. He promotes a healthy lifestyle and heart check-up at least as often as Ukrainians make checkups for their cars.

International peacekeeping missions

In 1999, B. Todurov organized the humanitarian mission to Egypt, providing surgery in Cairo for 16 children with congenital heart disease.

In March 2014 he organised a humanitarian mission to Crimea, a week before it was occupied by Russian military troops. Todurov with his team of surgeons and anaesthesiologists attempted to maintain the medical facilities of Feodosia military base, which was besieged by Russians at that time. Doctors brought medications and ambulance dressings in case of military combat. On leaving the Crimea peninsula, Todurov was asked to operate on an elderly woman with acute myocardial infarction. Later it turned out that the patient was the mother of Sergei Aksyonov, the self-proclaimed Minister of the Crimea.

Each third CABG operation in Ukraine takes place at The Heart Institute (1,436 operations, for comparison at the Amosov Institute - 844 operations). Each third stent in Ukraine is installed in The Heart Institute (2593 interventions; for comparison at Amosov Institute with 449).

The institute is a permanent partner of the Diplomatic Corps stationed in Ukraine. It helped many foreign delegates and members of their families. In December 2016, the mother of the US Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was operated on at The Heart Institute.

At the entrance to The Heart Institute, along with the flag of Ukraine and the corporate flag, there is the flag of the Crimean Mejlis. Mustafa Dzhemilev knelt before this flag during his visit to the Institute.

The Heart Institute has been the object of encroachment by political figures repeatedly.

There are reports on social media on 10 November 2023 of Borys Todurov having been conscripted into the Ukrainian army working as a doctor.

Civil position

Borys Todurov believes that Ukrainian cardiac surgeons are indebted to their patients. Despite a national need for 200 thousand angiographic procedures and stentings, only 15% are performed.

Repeatedly Borys Todurov has spoken out against the imperfection of the existing system of managing healthcare.

In 2011, he entered into a public debate with Health Minister Ilya Yemets (21 December 2010 – 17 May 2011) in the context of healthcare reform. As a response, Yemets tried to lower the rank of The Heart Institute from high-level cardiac care facility to an ordinary hospital for the treatment of patients with myocardial infarction or stroke.

Also, Borys Todurov publicly commented on the inactivity of Minister Sandro Kvitashvili on the issue of health care reform.

Before voting in the Verkhovna Rada, Todurov recorded a video message to the parliament members on supporting the Law on Transplantation.

In a video he stated that his organs are settled for transplantation upon his death.

Todurov was publicly supported by well-known medical figures including Deputy Director of the Institute of Neurosurgery Andrei Guk and director of the Endocrine Surgery Center Oleksandr Larin, as well as public people such as: Parliament Member Konstantin Yarynych, Kyiv businessman, writer and blogger Garik Korogodski, Massi Nayem, Alexandr Noinets and Oleg Musiy, Dmitry Rosenfeld.

In response to the video message of Todurov, the team of U. Suprun applied administrative pressure, announcing the re-accreditation of The Heart Institute.

On 5 January the team of Ulyana Suprun announced a crowdsourcing competition to identify non-transparent purchases in Prozorro system.

The only public participant in this flashmob was Evgenia Zakrevska, a lawyer.

On 6 January, Evgenia Zakrevska published an accusation of The Heart Institute in inflating the prices for purchasing the drug "Cefopectam".

On 6 January, Todurov denied these accusations, referring to the MOH order (No. 546) of 26 August 2015, which sets for state healthcare facilities the retail prices for this drug. They were not exceeded when purchased.

On 9 January 2017, Borys Todurov's official page in Facebook was blocked, then his personal account was blocked too.

On 27 January 2017 a fake page was created, called "Borys Todurov gives one of his apartments", making false claims about his “possession of several apartments”. On that page, the author ostensibly wrote that Todurov would give one of his apartments just for "repost and subscribe to this page." The page was promoted intensively on Facebook, having achieved tens of thousands of impressions.

The Facebook page called "Victor Medvedchuk" published the post with words of support addressed to Boris Todurov.

The investigation of journalist Alexander Noinets showed a direct link between PR-manager of Ulyana Suprun Bryan Mefford and Viktor Medvedchuk.