100 health ministers to meet in Turkey in October to tackle organ transplant issues

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Health ministers from 100 countries are to meet in Turkey in October to discuss issues related to organ transplants, according to a Turkish Health Ministry official.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Alper Cihan, the head of the health services department, said ministers from Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Asia would participate in the summit.

“The summit specifically aims at increasing awareness of health ministers from developing countries about the international declarations regarding organ transplants and equipping them with technical support to make them efficient on this issue,” Cihan said.

He also said this was the first summit through an International Transplant Network (ITN) program that offers international technical assistance and collaboration opportunities on organ donation and transplantation.

Cihan added that the summit would be a bridge to continuous relations and sustainable cooperation between the health ministers of participant countries.

The summit which is organized by the Turkish Health Ministry and Turkish Transplant Foundation (TONV) will be held in Antalya’s Kemer district, on Oct. 18-19.

“The other aim of the summit is creating awareness on how to be proactive against crimes related to organ transplant,” Eyup Kahveci, the head of TONV, said.

Turkey among top countries in transplant operations

Turkey is among top three countries in the world in kidney and liver transplants from live donors.

“Turkey trained some 3,000 people from 76 countries in three years in organ transplant procedures as part of an International Transplant Network [ITN] project,” Turkish Transplant Coordinators Association head Yavuz Selim Çınar said on July 4.

Çınar said Turkey ranks among the top three countries in live transplants because it is a technologically advanced country compared to many countries in terms of field experience.

According to the Health Ministry, the number of liver transplants in Turkey so far is 1,087 from live donors and 359 from cadavers.

The number of kidney transplants from live donors stands at 2,647 and at 693 from cadavers, according to Çınar.