Organ of Emma Jane Perry, who died in Northern Cyprus, flown to Türkiye by military plane for life-saving transplant
The liver of a British tourist who died while vacationing in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was transported by military aircraft to southern Türkiye, where it was transplanted into a Turkish man who had been battling cirrhosis for a decade.
Emma Jane Perry suffered brain death due to bleeding during her stay in Northern Cyprus. Her family chose to donate her organs, enabling a life-saving transplant for 47-year-old Ersin Simsek, a father of two from Türkiye's Antalya province.
The liver was transported aboard a military cargo plane dispatched by the Turkish Air Force. The urgent operation was coordinated by the Health Ministry's National Coordination System and performed by the Organ Transplant Center in Antalya.
Simsek had long battled hepatitis B-related cirrhosis. He first sought treatment after suffering severe abdominal pain and later faced worsening symptoms, including dramatic weight loss from 96 to 81 kilograms and excessive fluid buildup in his abdomen.
Doctors at the transplant center, who were attending a medical congress in Mugla province, returned immediately after learning of the available liver. The transplant was led by Dr. Bulent Aydinli, the center's director.
- ‘I was reborn'
“After the transplant, I was reborn with the new liver,” Simsek said.
“I had no one to entrust my children to. During the illness, I thought more about my children than myself. The liver came from TRNC. Now, I am waiting for the day I will reunite with my children.”
He thanked Perry's family and the medical teams, noting that widespread diabetes in his family had ruled them out as potential donors. “An organ donation doesn't just save the patient; it saves the family too,” he added.
Dr. Aydinli said: “After a tiring and challenging operation, we performed the organ transplant. Our patient is doing very well right now. When the patient first came to us, they said, ‘My children are young; I need to live for them.' The transplant saved his life.”
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