An appeal from her family to Turkish authorities might have saved the life of 24-year-old Dilara Şahin, a Dutch Turkish citizen. Dutch doctors decided to cut off life support for the leukemia patient last week and scheduled it for Tuesday. Her family opposed the decision and sought the aid of authorities in their native Turkey.
Upon President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s orders, a Health Ministry air ambulance flew Şahin from the Netherlands to Istanbul. The young woman was taken to a hospital in Istanbul early Monday, where her treatment will continue. The family has expressed their gratitude to Turkish authorities.
Şahin, who lives in Zwolle, Netherlands, was admitted to the hospital about one month ago and was treated for leukemia before she lapsed into a coma. Her family said the Dutch doctors told them that there was “nothing to do” for Şahin and scheduled an end to life support. The family launched a legal appeal while calling on Ankara to help them. A three-person health crew was dispatched to the Netherlands aboard an air ambulance on Sunday, and Şahin was brought to Siyami Ersek Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul.
“I was praying not to witness the death of my daughter and my prayers are answered,” Şahin’s father Oğuz Şahin told the Sabah newspaper before her transport to Turkey. “May Allah bless our president. He heard our voice and showed that we are not alone in Europe. He showed how great the state of Turkey is,” he added. “I firmly believe that Turkish doctors will do everything for her treatment. There might be a miracle and she can survive,” he said.
Associate professor Murat Sargın, who led the crew who brought Şahin to Turkey, said the patient was on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life support technique for prolonged cardiac and respiratory support and suffered a “serious lung problem.”
“Our trip from the Netherlands to Turkey for such a patient is rare. A patient cannot travel that long while on ECMO and it is very difficult. But our country is accustomed to such processes and patients in similar conditions were airlifted during COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. Sargın said the patient’s condition was “stable” now at the hospital and that they would try to “wake her up” in the coming days after more medical consultations and a treatment process.
Air ambulances, provided free of charge for Turkish citizens since 2008, have brought thousands of patients to Turkey from abroad. They proved useful especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when Turks infected with the disease were stranded abroad. Most recently, a player from Turkey’s national handball team, infected with the deadly disease, was airlifted from the Greek Cypriot-controlled part of Cyprus in a first for the country which does not recognize that part of the divided island.
