- New global record from Türkiye, a world leader in liver transplantation: the procedure was successfully completed through 16 simultaneous operations involving 150 healthcare professionals.

- Director of the Liver Transplant Institute Prof. Sezai Yılmaz: “Approximately 90 percent of all paired liver transplants worldwide are performed in Malatya. We are the global leader. We could even perform nine-way and ten-way paired transplants.”

- “The goal is not to break records, but to provide organs and hope to patients.”

- President of the Council of Higher Education Erol Özvar: “I am deeply proud of this remarkable achievement. This world-first procedure demonstrates the level that Turkish higher education, our scientists, and our healthcare system have reached on a global scale.”

The Liver Transplant Institute at İnönü University’s Turgut Özal Medical Center has achieved another milestone that will be remembered in the history of medicine. Led by Prof. Sezai Yılmaz, the transplant team successfully performed the world’s first simultaneous eight-way paired liver transplant, opening a new chapter in the field of organ transplantation.

June 16, 2026

The center had previously performed the world’s first four-way, five-way, six-way, and seven-way living-donor paired liver transplants. With this latest operation, it has once again surpassed its own record.

- Sixteen Simultaneous Operations

The eight-way paired liver transplant involved a total of 16 simultaneous surgeries, including eight donors and eight recipients.

Approximately 80 percent of liver transplants in Türkiye are performed using living donors. However, many willing donors are medically incompatible with their intended recipients. This is where the paired transplantation system becomes essential.

In paired transplantation, a donor who is unable to donate to a relative due to medical incompatibility is matched with another patient, while that patient’s relative donates to someone else within the chain. In this way, incompatibility can be overcome through scientific matching methods.

- The Achievement Owes Much to Turkish Scientists in the United States

The achievement in Malatya was once again made possible through the work of Turkish scientists. The matching process was conducted using an algorithm developed by Turkish economists Prof. Tayfun Sönmez and Prof. Utku Ünver of Boston College in the United States. The matching model evaluates numerous criteria, including blood type compatibility, liver size, anatomical characteristics, and donor safety, making it a vital tool for patients awaiting transplantation.

In paired transplant chains, all surgeries are interconnected. If a donor or recipient withdraws at the last moment, the entire chain may collapse. For this reason, all procedures are initiated simultaneously.

The operation lasted 22 hours and required the use of a substantial portion of the institute’s operating room and intensive care capacity. More than 150 healthcare professionals, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses, participated in the procedure.

- Malatya: The Global Hub of Paired Liver Transplantation

As one of the world's foremost centers for living-donor liver transplantation, the Liver Transplant Institute at İnönü University is also the undisputed global leader in paired liver transplantation.

Approximately 80 to 90 percent of all paired liver transplants worldwide are performed in Malatya. The total number of paired liver transplants carried out at the center has now exceeded 400. By comparison, the center ranked second globally, located in India, has performed approximately 100 such procedures.

- A World Record Beyond Triple Transplants

With the successful completion of the eight-way paired liver transplant, Prof. Sezai Yılmaz and his team have further solidified their unmatched position in this field.

Outside Türkiye, only three countries have managed to perform triple paired liver transplants. Four-way, five-way, six-way, and seven-way living-donor paired liver transplants had previously been performed only at the İnönü University Liver Transplant Institute. The successful eight-way procedure has now extended that record even further.

- “The Eight-Way Transplant Was the Only Hope for Patients in Liver Coma”

Explaining how the eight-way paired transplant became necessary, Prof. Yılmaz said that several patients in the paired transplant pool had reached a critical stage.

“Two of our patients had severe ascites and jaundice. Their kidney functions had also begun to deteriorate. Another patient had entered what we call hepatic encephalopathy, or liver coma.”

Yılmaz explained that the matching process involving these critically ill patients ultimately produced the eight-way transplant model. “The model emerged from a pool of 24 patients and 29 donors. We realized that it could save all three of these critically ill patients, and therefore decided to proceed with the eight-way paired liver transplant.”

- “We Could Even Perform Nine-Way and Ten-Way Paired Transplants”

Prof. Yılmaz emphasized that the operation required an extraordinary level of coordination and involved more than 150 healthcare professionals. “Today we performed an eight-way paired transplant at the Liver Transplant Institute of İnönü University, but we could even perform nine-way or ten-way paired liver transplants. We possess the physical infrastructure, surgical equipment, and transplant team necessary to carry out procedures of this scale.”

- “The Goal Is Not Records, but Saving Lives”

Prof. Yılmaz stressed that the primary objective of multi-way paired transplantation is to help more patients rather than to set records. “The goal is not to perform increasingly complex paired transplants. Our aim is to offer hope and provide organs to patients who have spent a long time in the paired transplant pool or whose conditions have become extremely urgent.”

He noted that the surgeries continued for approximately 16 hours until the final patient left the operating room and that the total duration reached 22 hours because two patients required vascular revision procedures. “The greatest source of happiness for us is that our patients are doing well and currently experiencing no complications. After such an exhausting effort, seeing our patients healthy makes everything worthwhile.”

- Özvar: “I Am Deeply Proud of This Achievement”

President of the Council of Higher Education Erol Özvar issued the following statement regarding the operation:

“I wholeheartedly congratulate İnönü University, Turgut Özal Medical Center, Prof. Sezai Yılmaz, who led this historic achievement, and the entire healthcare team for performing the world’s first simultaneous eight-way paired liver transplant at the Liver Transplant Institute of Turgut Özal Medical Center. This world-first procedure is of immense significance because it demonstrates the level that Turkish higher education, our scientists, and our healthcare system have reached on a global scale.

I am deeply proud of this remarkable achievement. Through their work in medicine and healthcare, our universities continue to serve as an example not only for our country but for the entire world. The culmination of İnönü University’s pioneering efforts in organ transplantation with such an important scientific and humanitarian achievement is a source of pride for all of us.

I congratulate all of our academics, physicians, and healthcare professionals who bring hope to patients and help shape the global medical literature through their knowledge and experience, and I wish them continued success.”