Turkey’s organ donations fail to meet needs

Turkey’s organ donations fail to meet needs

Over 20,000 patients in Turkey are waiting on organ transplants, according to data from the Health Ministry.

According to recent data released by the Health Ministry, there are about 20,000 patients awaiting kidney transplants, while about 2,000 are waiting for livers.

During Organ Transplantation Week, data released by the Health Services Directorate General revealed the conditions of patients waiting on organs for transplant surgeries needed to better their health.

The ministry’s wait list for organ donation currentlyhas 21,878 patients registered. Among them, 16 people need lungs, 19,466 need kidneys, and 325 need hearts, 4 people are waiting for heart valves, 1,851 await livers and 216 are waiting for pancreases.

Despite the high number of patients waiting organ transplants, the rate of organ donation remains insufficient. Generally, organs are transmitted from live human-beings, something only possible for liver and kidney patients who have donors.

According to data from the Ministry, a total of 3,270 patients underwent organ transplants this year. Of these surgeries 2,527 organs were transplanted from live human beings, while 743 were taken from cadavers.