Medical students crowdfunding for Covid-19: because everything we do matters

He’s name is Tevfik Serhan Bora, and he’s one of the many medical students at Humanitas University who felt the need to do something helpful during the new coronavirus outbreak. Thus began the fundraising for Humanitas Research, in support of COVID-19 research led by Professor Alberto Mantovani, also teaching professor at Humanitas University, and Prof. Cecilia Garlanda.

When have you felt that you had to do something in this situation?

At the beginning of the year, I was reading what was going on in China and the progress of the COVID-19 out there really worried me. From just a concern it became something we started reading papers and discussing every day about during the classes and in the hospital. Since day one, as I observed, professors at Humanitas University have been very communicating, trying to keep everything about the outbreak as clear as possible. I also have experienced that all the professors were very open and helpful, trying to explain the situation from all the possible points of view and angles, reading papers, being responsive, and supporting, and also working like mad to try and make clearer the “jungle of information” that there was and still is at the moment. Because of obvious safety reasons, when the outbreak hit Italy, specifically our region, we stopped attending the hospital and I had to change my habits and stay in my quarantine and not see anybody. But I still wanted to be useful, I could not just stay put and watch. So, while studying, I shared my idea to support the COVID-19 research of Humanitas Research with my colleagues, and everybody immediately joined it.

What inspired you?

I was inspired by our chief, professor Alberto Mantovani: I remember that I was listening to a podcast he made in the middle of the crisis to make the other countries be aware of how serious this outbreak is. He found the time to inform the world about how serious this situation is and how immediate the anti contagion measures should have been. As a medical student, with the number of cases increasing in the World, with the situation we are experiencing so far, and keeping in mind the example of my teaching professors at the University, I wanted to do something that my dad, a surgeon, taught me and I grew up with: the responsibility towards others because we are all part of the same community. Thus I have started fundraising for the COVID-19 research.

What’s the aim of your fundraising?

As medical students, hearing and seeing the doctor who teaches us and is with us at the hospital, having such an attitude and also being humble it’s important, it’s an example for us as future doctors. We need people who inspire us. We all know that we need to learn more and more as quickly as possible about this virus. Research is expensive, as it is well known, but we also are aware that in Humanitas there are all the resources, the minds and the tools to carry on successfully the research. So far we have collected and donated to the COVID-19 Research 5,000 euros. We all want to contribute and take part in such a situation, because we utterly believe that everything matters.

How do you feel about being a medical student during this outbreak and a future doctor?

As a student in medicine and a future doctor, I believe that it is our time to be responsible and grow good habits by any means. I feel that we all together, as future doctors, should grow by now a sense of responsibility and humanity towards the community, be examples ourselves of good habits and good information for the community. In the middle of this crisis, I think I’ve chosen Humanitas University also for what “humanitas” means: human nature, civilization and kindness.