Evidence-led destination guide
Transplant Care in Turkey
Understand Turkey’s regulated transplant system, campus-verified hospital programs, living-donor safeguards, national allocation boundaries and the questions to resolve before travel.
- 1.5 million
- Health tourists in 2024A broad national health-tourism figure, not a transplant-patient count.
- 1975
- First successful living-donor kidney transplantA national historical milestone reported by the Ministry of Health.
- National system
- Deceased-donor allocationAllocation remains under Ministry coordination and cannot be influenced by private payment.
- Authorized centers
- Where transplantation occursOnly Ministry-authorized transplant centers may perform organ transplantation.
Established capability, controlled access
A national transplant system—not an open marketplace
Turkey combines a substantial international healthcare sector with a long-established national transplant system. Official records document kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas, corneal, bone marrow or hematopoietic stem-cell, and selected combined-organ transplantation.
That national capability should not be confused with automatic access. International patients still require a hospital-led clinical evaluation, pathway-specific legal review and confirmation that the named campus is authorized and willing to evaluate the case.
National milestones
A documented transplant history
These milestones provide historical context. They do not represent current hospital outcomes or access for an individual patient.
Early kidney and heart procedures
Official Ministry sources document Turkey’s first kidney procedure in 1968 and early heart-transplant activity in 1968–1969.
Successful living-donor kidney transplant
The first successful living-donor kidney transplant was performed from a mother to her son.
National transplant law
Law No. 2238 established the central legal foundation for organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
Bone marrow transplantation
Gülhane reports Turkey’s first autologous bone marrow transplant in 1984 and its first allogeneic transplant in 1985.
Liver and combined-organ milestones
Official hospital sources document the first liver transplant in 1988, early living-donor partial-liver procedures in 1990 and combined-organ milestones in the following years.
TÜRKÖK national marrow-donor program
The national program was established to coordinate suitable marrow and stem-cell donor matching.
Pathway distinctions
Transplant pathways performed in Turkey
National capability is not a promise of international eligibility, donor availability, allocation access or hospital acceptance.
| Transplant pathway | Donor or cell pathway | International access | What to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kidney transplant | Living and deceased donor | Case-specific | Living-donor evaluation is available at verified campuses; deceased-donor access remains nationally allocated. |
| Liver transplant | Living and deceased donor | Case-specific | Living-donor cases require donor protection and legal review; allocation claims must be verified separately. |
| Heart transplant | Deceased donor | Highly restricted | A specialist pathway governed by national listing and allocation rules. |
| Lung transplant | Deceased donor | Highly restricted | Performed at a limited number of licensed specialist centers; international access is not established by national capability. |
| Pancreas transplant | Deceased donor / combined | Highly restricted | An uncommon specialist pathway that may be considered alone or with kidney transplantation. |
| Bone marrow / HSCT | Autologous and allogeneic | Hospital evaluation | A cellular-therapy pathway distinct from solid-organ donation and allocation. |
| Corneal transplant | Regulated donated tissue | Hospital and eye-bank evaluation | Corneal tissue is managed through regulated eye banks and qualified ophthalmology teams. |
| Combined and other pathways | Specialist | Individual verification | Combined-organ and less common procedures require direct confirmation with an appropriately authorized center. |
Law and patient safety
What international patients must understand
- Authorized transplant centers
- Organ transplantation may be performed only by centers holding the relevant Ministry authorization for that transplant type.
- Living-donor protection
- Donor consent, medical suitability, relationship evidence, registration and, where required, independent ethics review are integral to the process.
- National allocation
- Deceased-donor organs are distributed through the national coordination system. MedTransplant cannot obtain an organ, alter priority or secure waiting-list access.
- International health tourism
- A health-tourism authorization is separate from authorization for a specific transplant program. Both the campus and the proposed pathway must be checked.
This is a source-based orientation, not legal advice. The hospital and relevant Turkish authorities must confirm the rules applicable to a particular recipient and potential donor.
Campus-verified directory
Published transplant hospitals in Turkey
Only programs supported by official campus-level evidence are shown. A listed program still requires direct clinical, legal and operational confirmation.
Transparent planning
Transplant pricing requires an itemized hospital quotation
No reliable general transplant price has been verified for the hospitals listed on this page. MedTransplant does not average or republish third-party market estimates as hospital prices.
Prepare for hospital review- A responsible quotation follows specialist review and identifies the recipient evaluation, donor assessment where applicable, surgery, anesthesia, planned admission, medicines and early follow-up that are included.
- Possible exclusions include additional investigations, blood products, intensive care, complications, prolonged admission, long-term medicines, travel, accommodation, companion expenses and follow-up after returning home.
- Third-party market estimates are not treated as hospital quotations and are not published as MedTransplant price ranges.
Patient questions
Questions about transplant care in Turkey
These answers clarify legal access, hospital authorization, donor safeguards, pricing and preparation for international patients.
Turkey uses a nationally coordinated deceased-donor allocation system. The reviewed sources do not establish a general entitlement for non-resident health tourists. The responsible authorized transplant center must confirm whether any lawful pathway exists for the individual patient.
No. MedTransplant does not source, recruit or introduce donors. A potential living donor must come through a voluntary, lawful hospital-led pathway and complete independent medical, consent, relationship and ethics requirements.
No. International health-tourism authorization and authorization for a specific transplant program are separate. The exact campus and transplant type must both be verified.
No reliable general price is published here. Complex transplant quotations should be itemized and based on specialist review of the proposed recipient and, where relevant, the potential living donor.
Only the responsible licensed transplant-center team can determine clinical suitability, request further investigations and decide whether it can offer an evaluation or treatment pathway.
Normally no. Patients should wait for the hospital’s preliminary response, document requirements and proposed evaluation plan before making non-refundable travel arrangements.
Ready to prepare your case?
MedTransplant will help prepare your records and coordinate submission for specialist hospital review.
Patient safety
Travel never overrides transplant law
MedTransplant does not source organs or donors, arrange payment for donation, influence allocation, or guarantee acceptance, outcomes or waiting-list access.
Licensed transplant centers make clinical decisions. Turkish law, national allocation rules and donor-protection requirements always apply.