According to the Daily Sabah, some 589 foreign nationals benefited from liver and kidney transplants from live donors in Turkey in 2018.
The article quotes Turkey Health Ministry figures showing that the number of foreign transplant recipients rose in 2018, compared to only 359 people in 2017, with 391 foreigners receiving kidney transplants, and 198 were operated on for liver transplants. It suggests that the high survival rate after transplants and quality health services are among factors attracting patients from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas to Turkey.
Professor Ayhan Dinçkan who runs an organ transplant center at İstinye University in Istanbul, said transplants for foreign patients are limited to kidney and liver transplants. “We only accept live donors, and foreigners are barred from transplants from cadavers. They also have to bring their own donors. They have to prove their kinship to the donors, and if they are not relatives, they are screened by a health committee on medical ethics,” he said.
The article points out that, ironically, Turkey itself struggles to convince more people to donate their organs. Religious or cultural misconceptions prevent most from donating, while clerics and government agencies campaign to persuade potential donors. Over 25,000 people are on waiting lists for organ transplants.
For a more detailed analysis of the medical travel sector in Turkey, visit the IMTJ Country Profile.
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