The 12th Gastroenterology Surgery and the 2nd National Liver Transplant Congresses have started in Malatya.

The “12th Congress of Gastroenterology Surgery and 2nd National Liver Transplant Congresses” has started in Malatya, which will last for 3 days.
The congress, organized in a hotel by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the Ministry of National Education, the Gastroenterology Surgery Association, the Liver Transplant Association, and Inönü University, was attended online by Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu and Prof. Dr. Mahmut Özer, who was responsible for Malatya while serving as the Minister of National Education during the earthquake.
In his opening speech, the President of the Gastroenterology Surgery Association, Prof. Dr. Erdal Birol Bostancı, stated, “Just 6 months after the earthquake, a 2nd cross 4-way liver transplant is being performed in Malatya. Then, 3 months later, a 5-way, another 3 months later, a 6-way, and 3 months later, a 7-way cross is done. 14 tables, 14 surgeries at the same time. They send this abroad. The editor there does not believe it. He says, send me the plan of the operating room. Send me the surgeons who participated in the surgery. In other words, he does not believe it. Who does this? It is done by Prof. Dr. Sezai Yılmaz, a lover of Malatya, who leads this team. There are very advanced countries in the world. Their capital far exceeds ours. The value of some companies is even equivalent to Turkey’s national wealth,” he said.
The Director of the Liver Transplant Institute at Inönü University and President of the Liver Transplant Association, Prof. Dr. Sezai Yılmaz, said, “In our country, Organ Donation Week is celebrated every year between November 3 and 9. Of course, this week is also organ donation week. In fact, we did not plan for this congress to coincide with these dates with Prof. Birol. However, on February 6, 2023, we experienced devastating earthquakes in Malatya and many of our provinces. The President of the Gastroenterology Surgery Association, Prof. Dr. Erdal Birol Bostancı, suggested holding this congress in memory of those we lost in the earthquake. Among those we lost were healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, and medical students. Of course, there were also our people. He suggested spreading this in Malatya. We also had a plan for a congress in Malatya as the Liver Transplant Association. We decided to hold both together. We have very valuable speakers from both domestic and international backgrounds. We ensured that the speakers from abroad participated online, adhering to the austerity measures in our country. We are very happy to host all participants in Malatya. We are pleased to conduct such a large scientific organization in our Malatya, which struggles with problems,” he expressed.
Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu also stated, “As of today, there are 2,651 patients awaiting liver transplants on the organ transplant waiting list in Turkey. We know that the only way to treat these patients is through liver transplants. On the other hand, thanks to the cross transplants performed in organ transplant surgery, the donor pool is increasing, and more of our patients are recovering. The Inönü University Liver Transplant Institute in Malatya is breaking new ground with its multiple liver transplants worldwide. Again, the Inönü University Liver Transplant Institute is our most precious center, performing the most liver transplants among all our hospitals. With our productive health model, we are bringing together the research and development efforts of health scientists in our universities with the production power of the industry and the encouraging role of the state. Thus, we will be alongside our scientists, especially those conducting R&D studies, through the ecosystem we will create via TÜSEB and provide support to our scientists.”