Organ Donation Themed Panel at Meram Faculty of Medicine

Due the “Organ Donation Week” at our university’s Meram Faculty of Medicine Eyüp Kalaycı Auditorium a panel titled “Every Donation Means a New Life” was held. On November 6, Wednesday between 10:00-11:00 am held panel enjoyed the participation of our Rector Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Şeker, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Tahir Yüksek, City Director of Health of Konya Asst. Prof. Dr. Hasan Küçükkendirci, General Secretary of Public Hospitals Union Prof. Dr. Mehmet Bekerecioğlu, Vice Dean of Meram Faculty of Medicine, academic staff of Meram Faculty of Medicine, patients undergone a transplantation operation at Organ Transplantation Center of Meram Faculty of Medicine, students and press members.

At the panel moderated by Prof. Dr. Şakir Tavlı, presentations covering the importance of organ transplantation and its reflection on society are made by Asst. Prof. Dr. Hasan Küçükkendirci, Prof. Dr. Nedim Yılmaz Selçuk, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Erikoğlu, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Takin, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aynur Uğur Bilgin and Dr. Melih Azap.

The moderator of panel Prof. Dr. Şakir Tavlı, Director of Meram Faculty of Medicine Organ Transplantation Center said in his speech: “In recent years we have been in effort to organize panels. Each New Year the number of patients expecting organ transplantation increases, whereas the number of donors stays in sufficient. This situation is the indicator of insufficiency of organ donations in Turkey.”

City Director of Health of Konya Asst. Prof. Dr. Hasan Küçükkendirci mentioned followings in his speech titled Organ Transplantation in Konya: “The patients’ waiting for an organ transplantations unique aim and struggle is to have a healthy organ although many other people linger in insignificant preoccupations. As to the in 2000s begun organ transplantations’ rates, unfortunately Konya as city fell pretty back. Until 2007 nobody in Konya donated any organ. We can accept 2007 as a milestone for voluntary organ donation in Konya. In our city Necmettin Erbakan University and Numune Hospital are the two centers at which organ transplantation operations are carried out. Rather than becoming soil, let our organs give life to others.”    

In his the “Chronic Renal Insufficiency in Recent Years” themed presentation, Prof. Dr. Nedim Yılmaz Selçuk stated: “In Turkey Renal insufficiency stands in a rapid progress. Despite the bounce in number of donations in recent years, it is far from being sufficient, due to the rise in the number of patients expecting an organ. Therefore, it is crucial to raise the number of organ donations.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Erikoğlu in his Kidney Transplantation and Surgery themed presentation spoke as followed: “Nowadays it is accepted that diabetics and hypertension are the main cause of Renal Insufficiency. In Turkey there are around 70 centers implementing kidney transplantation. At kidney transplantation, operations carried out on people alive are higher than the cadavers. An increase in number of transplantations from cadavers can be achieved by making people conscious of organ transplantation.”

In his “Liver Transplantation” themed presentation Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Tekin said: “There are 35 active liver transplantation centers in our country. The number of liver transplantation centers increases though it is not adequate. Blood group match is the only requirement for a liver transplantation and this makes our practice easier. Unfortunately, the cadaver number is lower than alive donors.”

In her “What is Stem Cell” themed presentation Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aynur Uğur Bilgin said: “Our most difficult issue is the poor number of voluntary donors in Turkey. Our people carry prejudices and fears related to this subject. A fragment of the ones who are willing to donate organs changes their minds at last minute.”

As for the last panelist Melih Azap presented a detailed slide show about National Organ and Tissue Transplantation Coordination System of Ministry of Health.