In the first six months of the year, seven heart transplants were performed at the Akdeniz University (AU) Prof. Dr. Tuncer Karpuzoğlu Organ Transplant Center. AU Faculty of Medicine’s Organ Transplant Surgeon-in-Charge, Professor Cengiz Türkay, stated, “While the number of patients currently on the national waiting list is around 1,500, nearly 400 patients are waiting at our center.”
Located in Antalya, southwestern Türkiye, the Professor Tuncer Karpuzoğlu Organ Transplant Center has offered thousands of new chances at life. Since its founding, nearly 7,000 transplants have been performed, and the center has seen a record increase in heart transplants in recent years.
Growing public awareness and successful transplants saving lives have helped boost organ donation rates. According to nationwide data, 20 heart transplants were performed across Türkiye in the first six months of the year, seven of them at Akdeniz University.
Türkay explained that their heart transplant program began in 1998 and has since reached a total of 131 transplants. He noted that only around 7 to 8 heart transplants can typically be performed annually, even though heart failure is one of the world’s leading causes of death.
“In Türkiye, there are currently between 800,000 and 1.2 million heart failure patients. While the Ministry of Health’s current list includes an average of 1,500 patients waiting for a heart transplant, our center alone has nearly 400 patients on the list,” he said.
Türkay emphasized that only 40 to 45 patients across Türkiye receive heart transplants annually. “Media efforts to raise awareness about organ donation will likely increase these numbers in the coming years. We’ve already reached the number of transplants we would normally achieve in a full year within just six months,” he explained.
He also stressed the need to further educate the public on the importance of organ donation, adding: “In 2025, of the approximately 931 recorded brain death cases, only around 200 resulted in organ donation approval. The Ministry of Health’s recent support in transporting organs via ambulance planes and helicopters, along with our center’s detailed preparations in this field, gives us hope that we will be able to provide heart transplants to many more patients in the near future.”
