Turkey: Organ transplants let one person save 4 lives

AYDIN, Turkey

Filled with sorrow over his brain death, the family of Mustafa Inanc said at least they could take solace in bringing life to four other people who will make use of his intact organs.

“It hurts, but there’s not much to do,” Fatma Inanc, the late Mustafa’s sister, told Anadolu Agency, adding that organ transplantation would "save the lives of others" and that pleased her.

After Mustafa, 47, on Tuesday suffered a stroke and then brain death in Aydin, western Turkey, amid their grief his sister and two children gave permission for organ transplantation.

Fatma said their decision came after doctors suggested it, and they were happy to cooperate.

Stating that she lived in a village and had known little about the benefits of organ transplants, she said:

"I accepted the suggestion because there were many patients waiting for organ donations ... At the end of the day, other lives will be saved. We could be waiting for organ donations as well," she said. "Organ transplants mean hope."

Following an operation in a state hospital, Mustafa's heart, liver, and kidneys were sent to the cities of Izmir and Bursa, where they will be given to patients who need them.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas