Turkish doctors carry out second kidney transplant series in Burkina Faso

By Ismet Karakas

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AA) - Turkish physicians have launched a second series of kidney transplant surgeries in Burkina Faso, following the country’s first successful procedures carried out last year with Turkish support.

The operations were performed at CHU-Tengandogo University Hospital in the capital, Ouagadougou, as part of a project led by the Turkish Organ Transplant Foundation with support from Türkiye’s Ministry of Health and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

The Turkish medical team conducted Burkina Faso’s first kidney transplant in 2025. This year’s procedures included a transplant between siblings.

Speaking to Anadolu, Dr. Ulas Sozener, head of the Kidney Transplant Unit at Medicana International Ankara Hospital, said the aim was not only to perform surgeries but also to help establish a sustainable transplant program in the country.

“We provided technical support and shared our expertise, while local doctors led the patient selection and preparation process,” Sozener said. “Our goal is to help create a system that Burkinabe physicians can operate independently.”

Sozener, who has performed more than 2,000 kidney transplants in his career, said the operation was completed without complications and added that local doctors were highly motivated and eager to learn.

Dr. Serkan Akinci, an organ transplant surgeon from Bezmialem University, told Anadolu that the project also carried a humanitarian dimension, noting that access to organ transplantation remains extremely limited in Burkina Faso.

“Our objective is to train local physicians and bring the kidney transplant program to a level where they can manage it on their own,” Akinci said, adding that some Burkinabe doctors had previously received training in Türkiye.

He said the surgeries were successful and the transplanted kidney was functioning normally.

- ⁠‘Our aim is to ensure that Burkinabe doctors can perform these procedures independently’

Also speaking to Anadolu, Boureima Ouedraogo, a Burkinabe doctor who took part in the operation alongside the Turkish team, said that cooperation with the Turkish Organ Transplant Foundation has been ongoing since 2024.

He noted that the first series of kidney transplants in Burkina Faso was carried out in July 2025 following training programs in Türkiye, and that the current operations mark the country’s second transplant series.

“Our aim is to ensure that Burkinabe doctors can perform these procedures independently,” Ouedraogo said, adding that kidney transplant surgeries are now being successfully carried out in the country thanks to the partnership with Türkiye.

*Writing by Busra Nur Cakmak in Ankara