Eight transplants were performed in Israel and Cyprus in one day alone as part of an international program: five in Israel and three in Cyprus.
Israel’s National Center for Transplantation cross-referenced pairings using a dedicated computer program from an international database containing pairings who are incompatible family members, and which also lists people from Cyprus.
The large number of transplants was made possible thanks to two altruistic donors who contacted the National Center for Transplantation and thus opened a chain of transplants of sorts.
The logistic operation began on Monday morning and ended the same day in the evening. Kidneys saved at Hadassah-University Medical Center in Jerusalem and Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba were transported by ambulance to the airport, and from there to Cyprus.
At the same time, another kidney was saved in Hadassah and transferred for transplantation in Soroka, and a kidney was saved from a donor in Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva, which was assigned for transplantation in Hadassah.
All those who received transplants are in good condition, and the new kidneys are already functioning.
In total, 10 surgeries were performed in Israel: five kidney removal surgeries and five kidney transplant surgeries.
Cooperation with Cyprus
“I cherish and welcome the cooperation between Israel and Cyprus,” said Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director-general of the Population and Immigration Authority. “The exchange of kidneys between the countries brings solutions to patients with antibodies, so I call on every family where there is a patient in need of a kidney transplant to join the cross-match database if no match is found between them.”
Dr. Tamar Ashkenazi, director of the National Center for Transplantation, said that this is the first time two kidneys were exchanged in such a way between the countries.
“Since there is only one medical center in Cyprus that performs transplants…and they had to perform six surgeries in one day (three extractions and three transplants), the Cypriot transplant team will be reinforced with a transplanter who came specially from England.”