Transplantology clinics in Turkey

What transplant operations are accomplished in Turkey

Turkish transplant specialists accomplish transplantations of:

• Hair;
• Cornea;
• Lungs;
• Pancreas;
• Liver;
• Bone marrow;
• Skin grafts;
• Kidneys.

Also, in Turkish clinics, the «heart-lungs» and multiorgan surgical complexes are provided.
One of the other advantages is the high patient survival rate. Due to the vast experience of transplantologists and the use of modern surgical approaches, in Turkish clinics this indicator is the same as in the leading medical centers in the USA and Europe.

Dr. Mehmet Kampolat, head of the Turkish Health Tourism Association, said that over the past decades, the country has made great strides in improving health infrastructure: «Previously, Turkish citizens traveled abroad to gain access to better health care. Today the trend has changed. More and more people from abroad come to Turkish clinics for treatment. And organ transplantation is one of the most important and demanded areas. Turkey is among the leading countries in terms of the number and quality of such operations. »

Cross organ transplantation in Turkey

Turkish doctors have achieved particular success in cross-transplantation. This is one of the most significant achievements of modern transplantation, which made it possible to overcome the barrier of immunological incompatibility between giver and recipient. The essence of the operation is the exchange of organs. For example, a patient has a donator willing to donate an organ, but they are incompatible. Doctors select the same pair, taking into account that the donor is compatible with the recipient from the other pair. This is followed by simultaneous surgical interventions, during which the couples exchange organs.

A few pairs can participate in this chain at once. In 2018, the doctors of the Turkish clinic Medicana performed a unique operation — cross-match procedure according to the domino principle at once to 7 patients. This is the first time in the history of transplantation in Europe, when 14 people were operated on at the same time. 22 doctors worked in 7 operating rooms. The surgery was successful for all people.

Originally, the crossover method was used only for kidney transplants. Later, it began to be used for liver transplantation. In Turkish clinics, such operations are performed on an ongoing basis. For example, in 2017, 39-year-old Ukrainian Nikolai Pavlov, suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, was refused an operation in Italy due to immunological incompatibility with the donor. The solution was found in Turkey. The doctors selected a pair in which the giver was compatible with Nikolai. Cross-transplant was performed in 2018. Both patients and their donors are currently healthy and are still friends.

Features of kidney and liver transplant in Turkey

In Turkish hospitals, various operations are successfully performed. But doctors managed to achieve special success in liver and kidney transplantation. Turkey is one of the three countries in the world in terms of the number of such operations. To achieve this result, the Ministry of Health has taken a number of measures, including:

• Increasing state funding for this field;
• Allowing private clinics to perform such procedures;
• Expanding the educational program for doctors and public awareness on donation.

All this has led to the fact that since 2010, the number of kidney and liver transplantations in Turkey has increased greatly.

Who can be a kidney donor in Turkey

Eligibility criteria may vary from clinic to clinic. But the main ones are:

• Age from 18 years old;
• Mental health;
• Absence of systemic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus (there are exceptions that are considered on an individual basis);
• Having both healthy kidneys;
• Voluntary consent to donation;
• If there is a spouse — his/her consent to donation.

Who cannot be a kidney donor in Turkey

Even with immunological compatibility with the recipient, contraindications to kidney donation are:

• Age under 18 and over 65;
• Hypertension and diabetes mellitus (there are exceptions);
• Proteinuria (presence of protein in the urine);
• Hematuria (presence of blood in the urine);
• Recurrent urolithiasis;
• Severe diseases (COPD, cancer);
• Severe obesity (BMI> 35);
• History of thrombosis or thromboembolism;
• Mental disorders.

Who can be a liver donor in Turkey

To be able to donate a liver, you must meet the following criteria:

• Age from 18 to 65 years old (there are exceptions at the lower limit);
• Mental health;
• Voluntary consent to donate a part of the liver;
• If there is a spouse — her/his consent to donation from him;
• Compatibility of donor and recipient blood groups;
• Normal structure and function of the liver;
• Sufficient liver size for donation;
• Absence of serious systemic diseases (there are exceptions).

Who cannot donate a liver in Turkey

The main contraindications for liver transplant are:

• Age under 18;
• Mental disorders;
• Severe obesity (BMI> 35);
• Diseases that are contraindications for surgery;
• Active infections;
• Oncological diseases.

Organ transplant clinics in Turkey

Both public and private medical centers specialize in organ transplants in Turkey.

Memorial Hospitals

Includes 14 medical centers located in the largest cities in Turkey. More than 900 transplantations are conducted at Memorial clinics annually: 380 belong to kidney and 260 to liver.

Memorial medical centers specialize in the minimally invasive removal of a kidney from an individual. For the first time such an operation was performed in the United States in 1995, after which it became widespread and became the standard of treatment throughout the world.

At Memorial Transplantation Center, a kidney is removed through small incisions (up to 2 cm) in the abdominal cavity. After such an operation, the patient can be discharged the very next day.

Medical Park Hospital Network

It unites 28 multidisciplinary medcenters in 17 cities. Organ surgeries are carried out in the department of this hospital. The center has performed 1 225 successful transplant procedures and it has taken one of the leading positions in the world.

Thanks to the excellent technical installation and great clinical experience, the surgeons of the center manage to cope with any critical situations that may arise during body part exchange.

The survival rate of people who underwent procedures in this medcenter is: 98% after one year, 96.7% after three years, while in the USA 95.1% after one year, and 79.8% after three years. The survival rate of people after the procedure is very high.

Istinye Liv University Hospital

The clinic carries out transplants from a living and deceased donor (for foreign patients — only from a living one). Here, kidneys, liver and pancreas are successfully transplanted. Surgeries are performed for both adult clients and children.

The University Hospital has a technically equipped center for transfer (tissue or an organ) from one body to another. A team of experienced transplant surgeons led by Professor Ayhan Dinchkan have achieved high patient survival rates. During the work of the clinic, more than 5 000 nephral and more than 1 000 liver exchanges have been performed here.

Donor nephrectomy (removal of a kidney from a donor) in Istinya Liv is performed laparoscopically through small incisions. There is a possibility of carrying out multiorgan surgeries «liver-kidney», «nephral-pancreatic».

Medicana Hospital Group

Includes 12 multidisciplinary hospitals. The main specialization of the clinics is kidney transplantation. In Medicana, for the first time in Turkey, such innovative surgeries were performed as:

• Kidney transplant from an incompatible donor;
• Multiorgan simultaneous surgeries;
• Kidney transplant from a hepatitis B carrier donor.

The first international cross-kidney transplantation was also performed here. Medicana is one of the few hospitals where such operations are available for foreign individuals.

Removal of a kidney from a donor in the Turkish clinics of Medicana is carried out by a minimally invasive laparoscopic method. Performing surgery through small incisions allows people to return to normal life in the shortest possible time. Recovery takes place in comfortable single rooms. Donors are discharged in 1-2 weeks, recipients — in 3-4 days.

Benefits of organ transplantation in Turkey

People from different countries choose Turkish organ transplant clinics due to a number of advantages such as:

• Possibility of using not only relatives (after the approval of the Ethics Commission);
• Cross-transplantation for foreign people;
• Accepting children as the patients;
• Possibility of operating on individuals with diabetes mellitus and hypertension after a comprehensive medical examination and assessment of possible risks;
• Application of minimally invasive techniques during donor operations;
• Close observation of patients in the postoperative period;
• Individual rehabilitation programs;
• Extensive experience of Turkish transplantologists. Over the past three years, more than 3 000 doctors from 76 countries have been trained in Turkey, within the framework of the International Transplant Network ITN.

An additional advantage is the relatively low cost of the procedure compared to clinics in Europe and the United States. People from the CIS may also be surprised that the cost of organ transplant surgery in Turkish clinics is often lower than in domestic medical centers. In Ukraine and Russia, such operations should be funded by the state, but in practice, patients have to independently pay for the surgeon’s fee, nursing services, consumables and much more, so in the end a lot of money comes out. In Turkey, the cost of transplantation is absolutely transparent and already includes all costs.

The sale of body parts is prohibited by law. MedTour does not provide donations and does not promote the sale of body parts.

If you still have questions about surgical exchange of body parts, leave a request on the website. The coordinating doctor will select the best clinics for you and advise the appropriate doctors.