Prof. Dr. SEZAİ YILMAZ

Imagine a hospital in Malatya that has reached not only Türkiye’s but also Europe’s highest numbers in livingdonor livertransplantation. Prof. Dr. Sezai Yılmaz, Director of the Liver Transplantation Institute at İnönü University, explains how became 2nd in the world—thanks to an algorithmic cross-transplant model developed with BostonCollege. How do you perform nearly 300 liver transplants a year in Malatya? “It’s not just medicine—it’s a journey built from scratch with a clear goal: to create the 💯best transplant center in Turkey, right here in Malatya. 🏥” How many transplants annually? “Around 300, and with cross-liver transplants, this could reach 400. No other center in Türkiye or Europe achieves this.” What is “cross” liver transplantation? “If a donor & recipient are incompatible, they can match with another incompatible pair—saving two lives through algorithmic matching.” Is 279 cross-liver transplants in 3 years a lot? “Yes! India did 259 in 15 years with 9 centers. We did more at a single center in just 3 years. Soon, we’ll pass 300.” What drives this success? “It’s not just science. It’s vision, perseverance, and the belief that world-class medicine can rise from anywhere.” Today, Malatya is not just on the map—it’s a global capital of liver transplantation.