Turkey bids to set Guinness record in liver transplant

By Emrah Gokmen and Orhan Yoldas

MALATYA, Turkey (AA) - A Turkish university in eastern Malatya province has started five simultaneous liver transplantation surgeries in a bid to set the Guinness World Record on Wednesday.

"We will hold the surgeries on five receivers and five donors in 10 operation rooms today. We hope to bring success to our countries’ agenda […]," Sezai Yilmaz, Prof. Dr. at the Inonu University said.

"We have also welcomed other professors as international witnesses on this occasion," Yilmaz added.

As a witness, Dr. Sukru Emre from Yale University stated that this operation was important not just for Turkey but also for the World.

"During the 2000's, hundreds of patients flew abroad for organ transplantation but in 2019 hundreds of patients began to prefer Turkey for organ transplantations," Ahmet Tekin, an official from Turkish Ministry of Health said.

The Turgut Ozal Medical Center at the Inonu University offers approximately 250 annual transplants. It is also a training center where hundreds of people get trained to work in Turkey.

Malatya Governor Aydin Barus said they were proud of these operations, adding around 2,500 liver transplants have been in the medical center till this day.

Hakan Dogan, a liver transplant patient, said he had been waiting for this operation for over six months.

"We hope to get back to our healthy state as soon as possible," Dogan said.

The operations are expected to end in evening hours.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit