Mustafa İnanç's family may be filled with sorrow over his untimely death, but it will take solace in the fact that İnanç's organs have brought life to four people.
"It hurts, but there's nothing much we can do," his sister Fatma İnanç told Anadolu Agency (AA). "His organs would save the lives of others and that consoles us," she said.
Forty-seven-year-old Mustafa İnanç, from western Turkey's Aydın, suffered a stroke and then brain death earlier Tuesday. Amid their grief, his sister and two children permitted to donate his organs.
Fatma said their decision came after doctors suggested it and they were happy to cooperate.
She said they live in a village and knew little about the benefits of donating organs. "I accepted the suggestion because many patients were waiting for an organ transplant... At the end of the day, other lives will be saved. We could be waiting for organ donations as well," she said. "Organ transplants mean hope."
Following an operation in a state hospital, Mustafa's heart, liver and kidneys were sent to İzmir and Bursa, where they will be given to patients who need them.
According to the Turkish Transplant Coordinators Association, Turkey ranks among the first three countries in live transplants because it is technologically advanced in terms of field experience.
Around 2 million people in the world, including over 25,000 people in Turkey, are on waiting lists for organ transplants. Unfortunately, about 10% of these patients die each year without receiving a matching organ.
Although the number of organ donors increases every year, the number is still not enough in Turkey. Only 25% of the families with deceased relatives agree to donate organs.
Considering that every year up to 5,000 new people are added to the organ transplant list, Turkey needs at least 25 organ donors per million a year.
Although the country is far from this goal, every year, more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of becoming organ donors.
