Nicosia, Cyprus. A 16-year-old Cypriot girl was among four people who received kidney transplants through a linked donor chain in Israel, a procedure lasting more than 12 hours. All four recipients have been discharged and are reported to be well.
Linked donor chain
The Cypriot teenager received a kidney from a Jewish father of four. Her mother was not a compatible donor for her daughter but was found to be compatible with a 27-year-old woman of Arab origin who had waited years for a transplant.
The 27-year-old woman’s husband then donated a kidney to another man of Arab origin. That man’s wife subsequently donated a kidney to another woman in need.
Cyprus-Israel cooperation
The Cypriot girl’s transplant was organised through cooperation between Beilinson Hospital and Israel’s National Transplant Centre.
Eviatar Nesher, head of Beilinson Hospital’s transplant department, described the cooperation between Cyprus and Israel as one of the most significant achievements of medical diplomacy.
Speaking on CyBC radio, paediatrician and paediatric nephrologist Eftychia Thodi said the domino transplants had given four people a better life and expressed hope that similar efforts would continue.
Travel delay
The girl’s trip to Israel had initially been scheduled earlier but was postponed because of the Middle East conflict. Thodi said it took three months before she could be sent safely to Israel.
Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides thanked the donors and their families for giving life and hope to people they did not know.
