Semih's kidney was transplanted to Melikesu on her 18th birthday
In the Ayancık district of Sinop, Semih Efe Ö. almost drowned in the sea he entered to cool off on June 11. Semih, who was pulled out of the sea with the help of people around, was taken to Samsun Ondokuz Mayıs University Medical Faculty Hospital and suffered brain death on June 13. The grieving family donated their child's organs. Semih's kidney was brought to Ankara by the National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE) vehicle and transplanted to Melikesu Köse, who had been treated for "protein leakage in the kidney" since the age of 5. Melikesu Köse regained her health after the 3-hour transplant operation performed on her 18th birthday at Bilkent City Hospital.
Melikesu Köse, whose older sister Maşide İpek (33) is also waiting for a kidney transplant due to the same disease, said that she has been struggling with the disease since she was 5 years old and has been waiting for a transplant for a long time. Stating that she transferred to open high school due to her treatment and received the happy news while she was preparing for the Higher Education Institutions Exam, Melikesu Köse said, "Suddenly at 02:00 at night, they called from the hospital and said, 'the kidney was removed, but there is an exam, can you come?' We came because the kidney was the priority. We had never thought of such a thing.
It was like a miracle. I turned 18, I just became an adult and it was like a new life was given to me. Before the transplant, more than half of my day was spent on dialysis. It was very difficult. I was preparing for the exam but I will take the exam next year. When I see the healthcare professionals, their efforts are really great. I want to be a nurse now. Because they are the ones who heal. My sister and I have the same disease. She started dialysis 2 years before me. She was also in line for a cadaver transplant. When I had the surgery, her hopes also blossomed," he said.
"WE WILL VISIT THE FAMILY"Fatma Köse stated that her three daughters, Maşide and Melikesu, were struggling with the 'protein leak' disease and said, "Melikesu has been taking medication since she was 5 years old. When the news of the organ transplant came, my daughters came before the surgery. Maşide cries, I cry, I cry for joy for Melikesu, but I can't look Maşide in the eye either. Because she is waiting too. I hope that my child will get an organ and she will be saved too. I am very sad. My son-in-law saw it on the internet. My son-in-law told me that the kidney came from a child from Sinop. I was very sad for him too, I cried. We all read the Quran to that child. We don't know him but we are thinking of going to visit the family after Melikesu gets better, may Allah be pleased with them a thousand times over. May the child rest in peace."
Melikesu Köse's doctor, Prof. Dr. Umut Selda Bayrakçı, said that Melikesu underwent the transplant on her 18th birthday and said, "It was a wonderful birthday present. It was a very happy moment for us. Because it is very difficult to get a transplant from a cadaver in Türkiye. Melike was both turning 18 and taking the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS). It was like a miracle. There is also a bitterness where the organ comes from, a child who is lost is sick. But how mature is her family that they donated all her organs. Suddenly bitterness and then joy. Only a child's kidney can be transplanted to most children. It's like a miracle actually. It was like Melike was given such a birthday present. Melike's treatment is going very well right now, and we will discharge her soon."
"WE ARE BEHIND IN CADAVER TRANSPLANTS"Bilkent City Hospital Kidney Transplant Specialist Sedat Taştemur said that according to the data of the Ministry of Health, approximately 25 thousand patients are waiting for organ transplantation from a cadaver, 3,500 transplants have been carried out since last year; however, 3,100 people lost their lives while waiting on the organ transplant list. Taştemur said, "Unfortunately, our country is far behind in transplants from a cadaver.
We are second in the world in live transplants. However, we are in the last place in cadaver transplants. The rate of cadaver transplants performed in our country is around 10 percent. Last year, only 350 of the 2,075 brain deaths accepted organ donation. Families and relatives of patients in particular need to be aware of this issue. We need to know that if we donate these organs, a part of our organs or our loved ones will still live," he said.
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