Turkish Cypriot given kidney transplant in the south after beating by Turkish officer
THE PARASKEVAIDION Transplant Centre in Nicosia yesterday confirmed that surgeons there had carried out a transplant on a young Turkish Cypriot man after he was turned away by doctors in both Turkey and the north.
A member of staff at the transplant centre said they could not comment on the details of the case, but confirmed that Dervan Tureray, who is believed to be in his early 20s, was given a successful kidney transplant last Wednesday and was recuperating at the clinic.
Yesterday, Turkish Cypriot opposition newspaper Afrika reported that Tureray sustained serious injuries to one of his kidneys several years ago when serving in the army in the north. The paper said he was beaten with the "justice stick" by the Turkish commander of his unit because he returned late from leave.
"As a result of the beating, one of Dervan's kidneys could no longer function due to excessive bleeding and inflammation," the paper said, adding that the young man was only being kept alive connected to a machine.
He was then sent to Turkey and after extensive analysis and tests was forced to return to the north "with the excuse that his mother's kidney was not a match," Afrika said.
"As a last resort, he crossed to south Cyprus with his mother and found exactly the opposite," Afrika said. "His mother's kidney was a match but in order not to make a mistake, the Greek Cypriot doctors contacted the Turkish hospital. The answer they received showed how little regard for human health there is in Turkey and the TRNC."
The paper said that officials at the Turkish hospitals had informed the authorities in the north that the operation would cost £30,000 sterling but that 'TRNC' could not afford to pay this amount, "so it lied in the official report about the kidney match".
