The newspaper Israel Hayom brings to light an incredible story featuring a 16-year-old Cypriot girl. The girl found herself at the center of an unprecedented chain of transplants connecting a Jewish volunteer donor, a family from Cyprus, and two Arab couples who are citizens of Israel. And so, four lives were saved.

The chain began when a 52-year-old Jewish man selflessly offered one of his kidneys to the 16-year-old. Her mother, who was not a suitable match to donate directly to her daughter, was found to be a match for a 27-year-old woman who had been waiting for years for a second transplant. The young woman’s husband, in turn, donated a kidney to an Arab citizen of Israel, and his wife donated her own kidney to another woman. This completed the chain of four transplants.

“The cross-transplant, which also involved a couple from Cyprus, has another unique feature. Beyond the fact that it was part of a four-couple cross-transplant, this uniqueness lies in the fact that one of the donors was an altruistic donor. In other words, he had no familial or friendly relationship with any of the other couples or individuals who underwent the transplant.”
Dr. Michalis Papoulas – Surgeon and Transplant Specialist, Nicosia General Hospital

A 12-hour procedure during which the four donor-recipient pairs underwent surgery one after another.

“This chain is by no means easy to carry out and requires a great deal of organization—and, I would say, a little luck. Usually, we see cross-transplants, involving two or three pairs. Anything involving four or more couples requires a great deal of organization, and I’d say it’s not something we see very often.”
Dr. Michalis Papoulas

According to the report, the procedure was postponed twice, with the third attempt being successfully completed, in collaboration with Beilinson Hospital and the National Transplant Center in Israel.

“Through this collaboration, Cyprus and Israel have much to gain, because people who would otherwise have to wait on the waiting list for a very long time are now given the opportunity, through cross-transplantation, to significantly reduce their waiting time.”
Dr. Michalis Papoulas

The director of the Transplant Department at Beilinson Hospital, speaking to the Israeli media, described the cooperation between Cyprus–Israel as one of the most impressive successes of medical diplomacy.

Watch the report by Nasia Ioannou: