There are around 130 patients waiting for a kidney transplant in the country

Explaining that organ transplant is the name of the operation where an organ from a donor body is removed and later placed in receiving body in replacement of a damaged or missing organ, Dikmen advised that the organs to be transplanted can be taken by a living body or from a cadaver.

Stating that it is necessary for the individual who will be donating to confirm this in writing, Dr. Dikmen went on to say, “It is important that the donor states in an official or written will that they are leaving all of their body or certain tissues of their body for treatment, diagnosis, and scientific purposes”.

Drawing attention to the fact that today, organ transplants are done successfully, Dikmen advised that among the organs that can be transplanted, there is the heart, kidney, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestines, thymus, and uterus.

Dr. Dikmen stated that when examining global medical data, it is seen that the most transplanted organ is the kidney, and noted that the liver and heart follow the kidney in this sense.

Explaining that the first live kidney transplant in the TRNC was performed in July 2015, Dikmen continued, “To date, 48 kidneys and 3 heart transplants have been performed in the TRNC”.

Underlining the fact that almost everyone can be an organ donor, Dr. Dikmen added, “In this way, many lives can be saved”.

Advising that there are over 500 individuals who are donors in the TRNC, Dikmen shared the information that in the TRNC, 62% of kidney transplants were performed from cadavers.

Dr. Dikmen stated that due to the Covid-19 epidemic, many of the patients awaiting donors contracted Covid-19, and continued, “Many of them died. Patients with chronic organ insufficiency have weak immune systems and they cannot fight the disease”.

Dikmen elaborated that the basic philosophy of organ transplants is to give life to patients with the organs of people who have passed away, without putting live donors at risk, and went on to state, “In the event that this is not sufficient, a person can donate their organ to a loved one”.

Sharing the information that patients awaiting a transplant require many more volunteers, Dr. Dikmen stated that she believes that in this way, organ donations will come to a much better point.