A young Cypriot woman who was killed in a car accident gave the gift of life to a 45-year-old woman in Israel, who had been waiting about two years for a heart transplant. The procedure was successfully completed at noon on Friday at Beilinson Hospital, as announced, following a complex procedure that was organized and carried out in just 26 hours from the initial notification of the donation.
According to Beilinson Hospital, on Thursday morning, colleagues from Cyprus informed Israel’s National Transplant Center that a heart was available from a young Cypriot woman who had lost her life in a traffic accident. Tests showed that the organ was suitable, and the process of identifying the most suitable recipient began immediately.
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The heart retrieval was scheduled for 3 a.m. on Friday in Nicosia. The medical staff at Beilinson Hospital had to spring into action without delay, while finding an available aircraft proved difficult due to the summer vacation period. Eventually, a larger aircraft was found, and emergency funding was secured for the flight.
Four medical teams worked simultaneously. The Israeli team removed the heart, while teams from Cyprus and Greece took charge of the lungs, liver, and kidneys. After the procedure was completed, the Israeli delegation was transported by helicopter to Larnaca Airport.
The aircraft landed in Israel at 7:40 a.m., and in less than an hour, the transplant had reached the operating room. Following the successful transplant, the doctors informed their Cypriot colleagues: “The transplant was completed successfully. The heart is in excellent condition. Thank you.”
The director of the National Transplant Center, Dr. Tamar Askenazi, emphasized that behind such a procedure lies a long chain of people and decisions. As she explained, every hour was critical and required flawless coordination between hospitals, airports, customs, and medical teams in both countries.
The success, he said, highlighted the importance of organ donation and the long-standing cooperation between Cyprus and Israel in the field of transplants.
It is worth noting that dozens of Cypriots have also benefited from this cooperation in recent years.
Source: CNA
