‘He refused to say that there was no radiation and no danger to the population'
Professor Leonid Kindzelski, chief radiologist of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, played a key role in treating victims of acute radiation sickness after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. He was posthumously awarded the title of 'Hero of Ukraine' in 2021 for his efforts to save the lives of those affected.
On April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant underwent a catastrophic failure during a safety test, releasing radioactive nuclides into the atmosphere. Professor Leonid Kindzelski, chief radiologist of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, was among the early medical responders. He introduced innovative approaches such as bone marrow transplantation and intensive detoxification methods to treat victims of acute radiation sickness. Kindzelski's work is credited with saving numerous lives among the first groups of firefighters and plant workers. In 2021, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky posthumously awarded him the title of 'Hero of Ukraine'. Kindzelski's son, Andrei Kindzelski, a haematologist at the National Institutes of Health, shared his recollections of the time and his father's work. Andrei Kindzelski was a medical student in 1986 and was also a first responder at Chernobyl.
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