KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION PROCEDURE, TURKEY- Istanbul- Antalya- Izmir- Bursa

Many high level hospitals in Turkey open their Organ Transplant Centen between 2000 and 2010. Located at the International Hospital in Istanbul of the Group, it hosts a team trained at world-renown institutions with a background of over 2000 kidney, 250 liver and 60 pancreas transplants over the course of their careers. The center is supported by the best clinical laboratory and intensive care unit of the country and performs kidney and liver transplantation.

Advantages in Kidney Transplantation in Turkey

• State-of-the-Art Technology and the Highest Quality of Services

The operating rooms and the intensive care units of the International Hospital are equipped with the latest technology infrastructure. The full laparoscopic technique diminishes the need for intensive care for the donor. However, but for liver and some kidney recipients full-fledged intensive care units are of critical importance.

The donor protection program (follow-up and care of the donor after the transplantation) is one of the unique services offered by the International Hospital Transplant Center.

The International Hospital Transplant Center is fully dedicated to highest of moral and ethical standards in organ donation and transplantation. It adheres to the principles of The Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplantation Tourism by the Transplantation Society and the International Society of Nephrology, as well as the Consensus Statement of the Amsterdam Forum adopted by The Transplantation Society on the care of the living kidney donors. The Center also meets the standards of the Turkish Organ and Tissue Transplant Coordination System.

• Infrastructure based on international standards

Operation theatres, laboratories and intensive care units are the most important of areas in organ transplantation. The advanced technology and internationally recognized high quality standards made available enable organ transplantation patients and donors to receive the utmost of medical services and care in the laboratories, intensive care units and operation theatres of Acıbadem.

Specialists with international experience perform operations using high-tech methods. Such an example is the removal of kidney with a mere 5-cm incision in the groin, performed entirely by laparoscopic surgery. The advanced medical methods practiced enable donors to be discharged within 24-hours after surgery and to be able to start work within a week’s time. Recipient can be discharged from the hospital within approximately one week.

The team at the International Hospital Organ Transplantation Center is led by the world-renown Dr. Alihan Gurkan, Professor of General Surgery. Among of the firsts accomplished by Dr. Gurkan, -who has performed over 2,000 kidney transplants over the course of his career,- are the following:

• The first living donor liver transplantation in Southern Turkey in 2001
• The first split liver transplantation in Turkey in 2002
• The first block kidney transplantation (combining two child kidneys to transplant as a single organ to an adult) in Turkey in 2003
• The first auxiliary combined liver and kidney transplantation in the world to treat, Oxalosis disease in 2004
• The first and only heart-kidney combined transplantation in Turkey in 2009
• Living donor kidney transplantation to the oldest recipient in Turkey in 2009
• Liver transplantation from the oldest cadaveric donor in 2009
• Kidney transplantation to the world’s lowest body-weight recipient (7.5 kg) in 2010
• Combined kidney and liver transplantation to the lowest body-weight recipient (7.9 kg) in the world in 2010
• Laparoscopic transplantation of liver from the oldest living donor in Turkey (84 years old) in 2010

Full-Laparoscopic Techniques

Full laparoscopic techniques used for surgery enable a minimum length of stay for donors. These techniques are used only at centers with highly experienced and expert staff and they offer many advantages over open surgeries: For example, while open surgeries involve 15-20 cmincisions, laparoscopy enables incisions only 5-cm in length. The operation is made possible by a camera inserted into the abdomen and enabling high visual control. A smaller operation area implies less post-operation pain and surgical wounds of less risks. The abscence of large surgical scars diminishes cosmetic concerns and lowers risks of herniation, numbness, surgical site infections, and pulmonary embolisms. With the laparoscopic technique, donors are enabled to be mobilized and to start fluid intake the evening of the surgery, to start solid food intake and get discharged the following day, and to start work the next week. The recipient is discharged within approximately a week.