What is Project Dynamo? Non-profit rescues surrogate mothers, babies from Ukraine war
The attack against Ukraine by Russia has not just killed innocent people, it has also put unborn babies and their surrogate mothers’ lives at danger. Recently five surrogate mothers were among the 60 people who were sent to a safe location, called “Club DYNAMO,” after volunteers of Project DYNAMO rescued them from the war-torn country.
A press release noted: “Club DYNAMO is one of the DYNAMO facilities, which has been used as a secure lay-over location before moving evacuees out of the country established during the opening hours of the war. It is also being used as a safe site where surrogates can remain until they are either able to deliver their babies or be transported to other safe locations far from the Russian offensive and Ukrainian counter-offensives which has displaced millions of civilians.”
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In a statement, Bryan Stern, Project DYNAMO’s co-founder, said, “We’re just relieved these missions were successful and with all involved safely out of harm’s way. As indiscriminate attacks injuring and killing scores of civilians are increasing, these rescues of civilians, including pregnant surrogates, are becoming even more imperative and more difficult given the dynamic threat environment.”
What is Project Dynamo?
According to its website, Project Dynamo “is an umbrella term encompassing two operations — Digital Dunkirk and Dynamo II. Both efforts are being run by extraordinary civilians with no ties to the US government attempting to do the impossible — saving Americans and Afghan allies who are fearing for their lives as the Taliban regains control of Afghanistan.”
They have extended their services to rescue efforts in Ukraine too, as per their website.
Since the launch of the Russia-Ukraine war, Project Dynamo has saved the lives of several surrogate mothers under five rescue operations — called AQUARIUS — after successfully rescuing three babies — twin American boys and a British baby girl — from Kyiv in March, which it named Gemini. At the time, Stern had explained the challenges they faced during the operation as he said, “The little girl, the little British girl, was on a ventilator and had all kinds of machines and all kinds of stuff. So the way this works is, if the power goes out, they’re going to die. If the glass blows out in the hospital and there are particulates in the air, they’re going to die.”
Besides, while leaving Ukraine, the rescue team had to cross over three dozen checkpoints. Stern had added, “That’s part of what [Project] DYNAMO does, we are good at handling these situations. We are very experienced in doing these kinds of things and we brief our passengers on things to do and things not to do.”
Ukraine is reportedly a famous European spot for people who want kids through surrogacy. It’s apparently less expensive than other alternative reproduction procedures. It has been said that since Putin’s troops launched war on the Eastern European nation in February, Project DYNAMO successfully evacuated and united over a dozen of surrogate babies with their parents. In their latest operation, the rescued ones also included 40 kids and fifteen adults.
The New York Post reported that over 100 surrogates have sent request to the nonprofit rescue group asking for assistance in escaping combat zones, including Mariupol, which made headlines after a maternity and children’s hospital was attacked by a Russian airstrike. It also added that Project DYNAMO “has received more than 15,000 evacuation requests from people around the world in relation to the Russia-Ukraine war, including the US, UK, Canada, France, Romania, Nigeria, Mexico and Afghanistan.”