Organ Transplant

WHAT IS ORGAN TRANSPLANT?

The operation in which a healthy organ from a living or dead donor is transplanted instead of a sick organ that has lost its function due to various environmental or genetic factors is called transplantation or organ transplantation.

What are Tissue and Organ Transplants in Turkey?

Heart, Lung, Liver, Kidney, Pancreas, Intestine etc. organ transplants;

Skin, Arm-Leg, Heart Valve, Cornea, Face, Bone etc. tissue transplants.

Who Can Donate Organs?

Anyone over the age of 18 with a sound mind can become an organ donor. The health status of the organ donor before and after the transplantation process is expected to be suitable for organ transplantation. Appropriate candidates can donate organs by performing the necessary analyzes and examinations.

Organ donations are easily carried out after the brain death of patients who request organ donation while their organs are in sufficient health condition. In vegetative life, it is not possible to obtain organs from individuals who are dependent on machines.

Organ transplantation may not be possible after every death. In order for post-mortem transplantation to take place, specialist physicians must decide which organs are suitable for transplantation.

How is Organ Donation Made?

Before organ donation, the person should get detailed information about organ donation. A living organ donor should be thoroughly familiar with the risks involved in transplantation. It is very important that you understand exactly what organ donation is and how much it will affect your life. Even if your health condition is suitable for organ transplantation, if the information you received before the donation leaves you hesitant, you can easily give up.

If the person has decided on post-mortem organ transplantation; considering the organ transplantation process, to the transplantation coordinatorship of organ transplantation organizations, to public and private hospitals, to units such as provincial health directorates; can apply to university and foundation hospitals.

Organ donation is applied in the presence of two witnesses. This donation is made through an organ donation form. The form contains a list of organs and tissues to be donated, and the patient fills in this list at his/her own request. After the person fills out the form, the organ donation card is delivered to the donor by the authorized team. Over time, this form is forwarded to the Ministry of Health and the transplant is performed after the brain death of the organ donor.

If there is a statement of the donor with brain death, the necessary protocols are applied. In the meantime, even if the person has an organ donation card, approval is requested from the family for organ donation. If the person has given up on the idea of organ donation, it is sufficient to deregister from the Turkey Organ Donation Information System.

How to Select a Patient for Organ Transplantation?

The person who will benefit from organ transplantation is selected by the National Transplant Coordination Center. Persons on the national waiting list are the patients to be selected for the transplant procedure. Tissue compatibility rate, blood type, order in the waiting list and urgency of the donor and the patient to be transplanted are important for this transplant. Selection criteria can never be determined based on race, religion, gender, economic and social status.

Is there a religious objection to organ transplantation?

In addition to the previous decisions of the Religious Affairs High Council of the Presidency of Religious Affairs in our country, the 03.03. With its decision dated 1980 and numbered 396/13, it issued a fatwa that organ transplantation from the dead to the living is permissible if certain conditions are met.