Under the leadership of PAU Hospitals Organ Transplant Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aslı Mete Yıldız, the stand was organised by unit staff members Midwife Dilek Özer and Nurse Nazlı Pala. Patients and their relatives were provided with information about the organ donation process, the importance of organ transplantation and how to become a donor. The opening ceremony was attended by PAU Hospitals Chief Physician Prof. Dr. Hakan Alkan, Head of the Department of General Surgery Prof. Dr. Onur Birsen, Director of Nursing Services Türkan Hayta, hospital administrators, healthcare professionals, patients and their relatives.

Speaking at the opening, Chief Physician Prof. Dr. Hakan Alkan stated that organ donation is an important example of solidarity that touches human lives and gives many patients a second chance at life. He also emphasised the need to raise public awareness of organ donation.

Head of the Department of General Surgery Prof. Dr. Onur Birsen noted that organ transplantation is vital for patients suffering from end-stage organ failure and stressed that increasing organ donations is essential to helping more patients regain their health.

Organ Transplant Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aslı Mete Yıldız stated: “Organ donation can open the door to a new life for more than one person.” She explained that organ donation is indispensable for organ transplantation, one of the most important life-saving practices in modern medicine. Despite scientific and technological advances, she noted, many patients with end-stage organ failure continue to wait for suitable organ donations in order to survive. Yıldız also highlighted the importance of raising public awareness.

Emphasising that the concept of brain death must be properly understood in the organ donation process, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yıldız explained that brain death is a condition in which all brain functions have been irreversibly lost and death has been medically established. She stated that families' decisions to consent to organ donation during this process can offer a new chance at life to patients awaiting transplantation.

Yıldız underlined the importance of individuals expressing their wishes to become organ donors while they are alive, sharing their donation decisions with their families and becoming informed about organ donation. She invited everyone to become part of this life-saving act of solidarity.

“Organ Donation Is the Greatest Act of Kindness One Can Leave Behind”

Speaking at the organ donation stand, Director of Nursing Services Türkan Hayta stated in her address for Organ Donation Week, held from 3 to 9 November, that organ donation is one of the most meaningful expressions of love and solidarity.

Hayta explained that organ transplantation requires a major team effort involving the coordinated work of numerous healthcare professionals, from the diagnosis of brain death and family consultations to coordination and the transplantation procedure itself. She thanked all physicians, nurses and healthcare professionals who carry out their duties with dedication throughout this process.

Reminding the public that anyone may one day need an organ transplant themselves or have a loved one who needs one, Hayta called on society to demonstrate greater sensitivity and raise awareness about organ donation.

At the stand set up at Pamukkale University Hospitals to raise awareness among patients and their relatives, registrations were completed for those wishing to donate their organs, and information was provided throughout the day.