Cyprus' largest crossover transplant series is being implemented, says Health Minister

Two years of operation of the Transplant Clinic of the Nicosia General Hospital has been celebrated with the largest-ever series of crossover transplantations ever involving Cyprus, Health Minister Michael Damianos has revealed.

He was speaking on 2 September during a press conference on the implementation of eight crossover transplantations in Cyprus and Israel.

Damianos said that the eight planned kidney crossover transplantations, three in Cyprus and five in Israel, had begun on 2 September through the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries.

He explained that the "Crossover Transplantation" programme enables incompatible donor and recipient pairs to exchange kidneys, ensuring compatibility, and pointed out that this method also increases the success rate of such operations.

The minister noted that chronic kidney disease is projected to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2040, adding that more than 1,000 patients in Cyprus are on dialysis, while about 20 kidney transplantations are performed annually. He also said that the number of transplantations had increased sharply in the last two years, reaching a total of 35 transplantations per year.

Damianos stressed the importance of organ donation and the fact that kidney transplant remains the best possible treatment for kidney patients, providing high success rates and improved quality of life for patients.

Crossover transplantation agreement between Cyprus and Greece to be concluded in September

In her address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Christina Yiannaki, referred to a "decisive day for transplants" and " our country", noting that the Ministry is coordinating a "large and complex operation."

Stressing the importance of agreements such as the one with Israel, whose implementation is progressing, Yiannaki said that in September the Minister of Health will go to Athens to sign the second agreement for crossover transplants, as well as an agreement with the Onassis Hospital for lung transplants.

At 12.20 pm on 2 September two transplants were scheduled to arrive from Israel for patients in Cyprus, she said, while two kidneys will be sent from Cyprus to Israel.

"Through this crossover transplantation programme, living members of an incompatible donor and recipient, who were previously unable to undergo transplantation, are thus exchanging kidneys with each other for the purpose of achieving compatibility," Yiannaki said.

The head of the transplant clinic, Dr Andreas Soloukidis, noted that the process of kidney removal from three donors in Cyprus started at 7.30am on 2 September. He noted that this procedure is being performed for the first time on such a large scale in Cyprus, as it requires three simultaneous surgeries, lasting at least 10 hours.

Dr Soloukidis confirmed that patients who have been on the waiting list for a transplant for a long time have a better chance of finding a donor through this procedure.

"Since we activated the memorandum with Israel last year, we have already transplanted - if all goes well - four of the eight patients already on the list," Dr. Soloukidis said, adding that "there are other pairs in the pipeline to join, which also highlights the importance of the upcoming agreement with Greece."

(Source: CNA)