From Manufacturing to Frontline: volunteers handed over 5,000 tourniquets to Ukrainian soldiers
A team of volunteers and a tourniquet producer collaborated on a project that allowed individuals worldwide to buy tourniquets for the front.
Rubryka writes about this.
What is the problem?
Unfortunately, in the third year of the full-scale invasion, the front still lacks approximately one million high-quality tourniquets. According to media reports, around 500,000 fighters are actively involved in the hostilities, and most are now equipped with two top-quality tourniquets.
However, due to active combat operations, military personnel often receive injuries to all limbs, and at least four tourniquets are needed to save them. In addition, the very system of providing pre-hospital first aid on the battlefield sometimes dictates the need to use two tourniquets for one limb simultaneously.
What is the solution?
The solution on a larger scale would be to revise the standards for equipping soldiers with tactical medicine, including providing each soldier with four tourniquets. This standard is already being implemented in some branches, mainly due to the personal initiative of the heads of medical units, and has shown positive outcomes.
However, before waiting for the standards to change, the volunteers have already begun adding two additional items to the soldiers' first aid kits and reached out to people worldwide for support in their "From Manufacturing to Frontline" project.
How does it work?
As a collaborative effort for the project "From Manufacturing to Frontline," Arkadiy Babchenko, Anna Dombrovska, and the tourniquet producer have launched a dedicated website (https://babchenko.tqdnipro.com/). Using the promo code ARKAN, anyone can purchase and send any amount of tourniquets to the front lines, subscribe annually, and provide monthly support to the Ukrainian military.
Then, the manufacturer will send the tourniquets to Anna Dombrovska, who will hand them over to the soldiers at the front and publish a photo report on the project page.
Anna Dombrovska, a long-time volunteer, has been providing military medics with top-of-the-line tactical medical equipment for years. Last year, with Arkadiy Babchenko's support, she was able to supply about 3,000 medics with top-quality Ukrainian-made medical assault backpacks and UTactic bags, as well as frameless stretchers, intraosseous access systems, medical organizers, and other lifesaving tools following the MARCH algorithm.
Arkadiy and Anna recently launched a project to equip battalions with BULLDOG evacuation carts. These carts have a unique suspension design that enables them to maneuver over obstacles like fallen trees, steps, and ditches while keeping the cart level. BULLDOG is especially useful for transporting injured soldiers and carrying supplies and gear.
"I have been thinking for a long time about how to make it possible for people from all over the world to help the defenders of Ukraine not with money but with something concrete. Unfortunately, I was constantly struggling with the fact that essential aid from abroad goes to Ukraine for weeks, sometimes months.
One fine day, I had an idea for making it so that anyone anywhere in the world could personally buy Ukrainian-made tourniquets and deliver them to our defenders at the front as soon as possible. The tourniquet manufacturer, well-known journalist, and volunteer Arkadiy Babchenko immediately supported the idea. This is how the project "From Manufacturing to Frontline" was born!
As part of the project, there is a discounted price of UAH 500 for any number of tourniquets. This allows everyone to acquire more tourniquets and help even more wounded individuals," Anna Dombrovska says.
She adds:
"Every day, we remove hundreds of Chinese and self-made "tourniquets" from soldiers and replace them with Ukrainian TQ DNIPRO tourniquets. The problem is huge, and we cannot cope with it alone. We replace hundreds, but we need to replace thousands!"
Arkadiy Babchenko says that donations come from Europe, the USA, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and the Asian republics of the former USSR.
"Most former USSR citizens donate because they recognize the importance of doing so. They are keenly aware of the potential threat their neighboring country, Russia, poses. Additionally, the diasporas of all post-Soviet nations in Europe and the Americas also make generous contributions," Babchenko explains.
As part of the "From Manufacturing to Frontline" project, 5,000 tourniquets have already been assembled.
For reference:
As soon as the full-scale invasion began, the Prostir production company wasted no time and swiftly developed and set up the production of tourniquets under the trademark TQ DNIPRO to safeguard the soldiers' lives.
The project started from scratch and grew into serial mass production using modern technologies, equipment, and its own laboratory. Production management and quality management systems were successfully implemented at the enterprise.
As a result, the product was recognized in Ukraine, the European Union, Great Britain, and Australia. First of all, production covers the needs of the front—almost 600,000 tourniquets have already been sent to Ukrainian soldiers.
Today, the TQ DNIPRO brand is represented in 12 countries worldwide, where its products are already saving lives.
