Antalya sets world record with most organ donation applications in one hour

ANTALYA – Doğan News Agency

Those participating in the Antalya event succeeded in breaking the Chinese record of474 applications in one hour in just seven minutes. DHA photo

The southern province of Antalya registered a new Guinness world record for signing up the most organ donors in a single hour on March 1 during a special event organized by the local governor’s office with support from NGOs and health workers. 

The organizers succeeded in collecting a total of 1,981 organ donations, a tally subsequently established as a new world record by Guinness representatives. Some 75 other applications were deemed invalid due to incomplete registration. 

China held the previous world record, with 474 applications being made within a single hour. Those participating in the Antalya event succeeded in breaking the Chinese record in just seven minutes.
Students at Akdeniz University, where the first full face transplant in Turkey was performed last year, had promoted the attempt ahead of time on social media.

Deputy Health Minister Ağah Kafkas, Antalya Gov. Ahmet Altıparmak and Akdeniz University Rector İsrafil Kurtcephe also contributed to the event by joining the donors. 

After the establishment of the new record, Kafkas emphasized that 22,478 patients were currently waiting for urgent organ donations in Turkey. 

“Each of us could have been among them. This would not have been such an easy event to organize if there hadn’t already been some sensibility [on the issue]. Donating organs that do not serve [you] after your death is not only a human sensibility, it is also an Islamic one,” Kafkas said.