Kidney swap in Ankara unites Turkish, Iraqi families

By Duygu Yener

ANKARA

An Iraqi and a Turkish citizen welcomed their new lives in the Turkish capital Ankara after a cross-kidney transplant surgery.

Ayse Siho, who fled to Turkey from Mosul after Daesh terrorist group's attacks in Iraq, was a dialysis patient suffering from renal failure in search of a suitable kidney.

The 28-year-old woman -- mother of two -- has been trying to hold on to their new life in the Kecioren district of Ankara, but her health problems followed her.

Siho has been receiving dialysis treatment for the past year. Her aunt wanted to give her kidney to Siho, but the blood incompatibility prevented them to do so.

The Iraqi family got lucky when 21-year-old Haydar Artuc, who has been receiving the same treatment for the past 10 years, and his family were introduced to the Siho family.

Introduced at the Ankara Institute of Medical Sciences, Haydar Artuc's father Cemal agreed to give his kidney to Ayse Siho. Likewise, Siho's mother agreed to give her kidney to Haydar.

After the successful cross-kidney operation, Dr. Erkan Olcucuoglu, the hospital's supervisor for the Kidney Transplant Department, told Anadolu Agency that both families were willing to give their kidneys to their own family members, but their blood types did not match.

"We introduced them to each other and persuaded them to give us the green light on the surgery," Olcucuoglu said.

"Their children will recover from this illness and will be happy. If they are happy, then we are," he added.

Siho, also sharing her thoughts, said she and Artuc were saved as two young patients.

"Haydar's father and my mother wanted to go through this surgery for us, so we could be saved," she said.

The two families burst with emotion as they saw their children for the first time after the surgery.

"I have now a daughter named Ayse. I would like to thank our doctors for giving us this chance," father Cemal Artuc said.