Turkey: Married docs share transplant skills worldwide

By Hatice Ozdemir Tosun

ANTALYA, Turkey (AA) – A Turkish husband and wife doctor team is getting attention and acclaim worldwide for their pioneering organ transplants.

In 2011, Dr. Omer Ozkan and Dr. Ozlenen Ozkan performed the world’s first uterus transplantation from a deceased donor.

Ozlenen Ozkan told Anadolu Agency that the couple has been giving face and arm transplantation training in countries they were invited to.

"Taiwan invited us to give training on face and double-arm transplants. We explained arm and face transplants using a cadaver,” she said.

She said next spring they will travel to the U.S. to take part in a conference on transplantation.

"We share information and do joint studies,” she said, adding that this is a great experience for everyone.

She said their clinic in Antalya, on the Turkish Mediterranean, has a long history and many patients.

“We’re developing techniques based on patients’ needs,” she said.

Stressing the importance of organ donation, she said their clinic is always ready to perform operations when they find a suitable organ.

On Sept. 29, 2010, the Ozkans and their supporting team at Antalya’s Akdeniz University completed the first double-arm transplants in Turkey on a man from the western Aydin province.

In 2011, the team also did the first-ever uterus transplant from a deceased donor.

The doctors then continued to make history with the first face transplant in Turkish history in 2012.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar