23.02.2026

The neonatal unit of the Atyrau Regional Perinatal Center is one of the best in Kazakhstan in terms of equipment today. It even has unique equipment that is used extremely rarely. But when it is used, it means that a life is at stake.

In December 2025, a baby boy was born at 32 weeks of gestation in extremely critical condition. After an emergency examination, doctors identified signs of pulmonary hypertension — a condition when the body, including the brain, does not receive enough oxygen.

The medical council decided to apply nitric oxide therapy — a high-tech method that is widely used in neonatal intensive care units in the USA, Japan, EU countries, and Kazakhstan.

“Immediately after we had started the therapy, we saw positive dynamics. Oxygen saturation increased, and oxygen dependence decreased. By the end of the first day, the baby was switched to conventional mechanical ventilation, on the second day — to non-invasive CPAP ventilation. On the fourth day, he was able to breathe on his own, and on the fifth day he was transferred from the intensive care unit to the Neonatal Pathology Department. In such a critical situation, only availability of a nitric oxide therapy device played a decisive role in saving the newborn’s life. We thank AYALA Foundation and Tengizchevroil for this,” Gulmira Merkhatovna Abikeyeva, Deputy Director for Neonatology at the Atyrau Regional Perinatal Center, notes.

Today, this baby boy is alive, discharged home, and is growing and developing to his family’s joy.

The nitric oxide therapy device helps saturate the blood with oxygen, ensuring the viability of all organs, including the brain. And thanks to the support of Tengizchevroil, this advanced medical technology is now available to residents of Atyrau region at the Regional Perinatal Center.

When a region has modern equipment and professional doctors, children get a chance at life. And this is the most important result of the joint efforts of big business, the charity foundation, and doctors.