A young Cypriot woman who died in a road accident has given the gift of life to a 45-year-old woman in Israel, who had waited around two years for a heart transplant. The operation was completed successfully at midday on Friday at Beilinson Hospital, following a demanding process organised and carried out within just 26 hours of the first notification of the donation.
How the donation was coordinated
According to Beilinson Hospital, Cypriot medical partners informed Israel's National Transplant Center on Thursday morning that a heart was available from a young Cypriot woman who had died in a road traffic accident. Tests confirmed the organ was suitable, and the process of identifying the most appropriate recipient began immediately.
The operation
The heart retrieval was scheduled for 3am on Friday in Nicosia. Beilinson's medical staff had to mobilise without delay, while securing an available aircraft proved difficult due to the summer holiday period. A larger aircraft was eventually found and emergency funding secured for the flight.
Four medical teams worked simultaneously: the Israeli team retrieved the heart, while teams from Cyprus and Greece handled the lungs, liver and kidneys. Once the procedure was complete, the Israeli medical mission was transported by helicopter to Larnaca Airport.
The aircraft landed in Israel at 07:40, and within less than an hour the organ had reached the operating theatre. Following the successful transplant, doctors informed their Cypriot colleagues: "The transplant was completed successfully. The heart is excellent. Thank you."
Officials' comments
Dr Tamar Ashkenazi, director of Israel's National Transplant Center, said such an operation relies on a long chain of people and decisions, with every hour proving critical and requiring flawless coordination between hospitals, airports, customs and medical teams in both countries.
She added that the success of the operation highlighted the importance of organ donation and the long-standing cooperation between Cyprus and Israel on transplants, noting that dozens of Cypriots have also benefited from this cooperation in recent years.
