TİKA Supports the Improvement of Transplantology in Georgia

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health, and Social Affairs of Georgia signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of transplantology in Georgia.

The signing ceremony, which took place at the Ministry of Health in Tbilisi, was attended by Onur Sevim, Undersecretary of Turkey's Embassy in Tbilisi; Tamar Gabunia, First Deputy Minister at Ministry of IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs; Necla Demirdağ, TİKA’s Tbilisi Coordinator; and Eyüp Kahveci, Chairman of the Turkish Transplantation Society.

Having spoken at the end of the ceremony, Gabunia stated that this cooperation with TİKA and the Turkish Transplantation Society was really important, saying: "Liver and kidney transplant services have been improving rapidly in the country, but the demand is also high. It's crucial to increase international cooperation in order to improve these services."

Demirdağ, on the other hand, stated in her speech that this was the first project carried out in the country with the cooperation of the Georgian Association of Transplantologists, the Turkish Transplantation Society, TİKA and the Georgian Ministry of Health.

Having recorded that they would strive to improve the life standards of the patients by cooperating with the Georgian side, Demirdağ stated that TİKA's project was going to raise awareness on organ transplant and organ donation by carrying out training programs and making sure that qualified people are trained in transplantology. She also recorded that new equipment with state-of-art technology would also be procured for the existing Tissue Typing Laboratory.

Within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding, in cooperation with the Ministry and with the support of TİKA, Turkish and Georgian colleagues will start working together on topics such as curriculum refinement, applied internship programs, establishment of a national transplant coordination system based on regions and hospitals, establishment of the medical, technical, legal and ethical infrastructure to begin cadaver transplants, and cross-border organ exchange.