Kidney Transplant in Turkey for International Patients
How a living-donor kidney transplant is assessed and carried out in Turkey: who can donate under Turkish law, what the transplant centre checks, how the ethics-commission step works and how care continues at home.
Information only. Nexwell does not find, supply or pay donors.
Quick answer
International patients are assessed in Turkey for a living-donor kidney transplant. The donor must be the recipient's spouse of at least two years or a relative up to the fourth degree; any other donor needs ethics-commission approval. Deceased-donor kidneys are not available to foreign patients. Surgery takes place at a Ministry of Health–licensed centre.
- Transplant type
- Living donor
- Donor
- Spouse (2+ years) or relative to 4th degree
- Other donors
- Ethics-commission approval
- Deceased-donor kidney
- Not available to foreign patients
- Where
- Ministry of Health–licensed centres
- Donors via Nexwell
- None: we do not find or pay donors
What a kidney transplant involves
A kidney transplant replaces a failed kidney with a healthy kidney from a donor. For suitable patients with end-stage kidney disease it is usually the preferred long-term treatment compared with staying on dialysis, but it needs lifelong anti-rejection medicine and regular follow-up.
A living-donor transplant can be planned in advance. Because the donor is also having surgery, the law, the donor's safety and the donor's freedom to decide come first.
If you are on dialysis now, see dialysis in Turkey. For earlier-stage kidney disease, see nephrology and kidney care. For the wider legal picture, see our guide to organ transplants in Turkey.
Who can be a living kidney donor in Turkey
The legal framework in one paragraph
Under Turkish Law No. 2238 (1979) and the Organ Transplantation Services Regulation (Official Gazette, 9 Dec 2022), a living donor must be the recipient's spouse of at least two years or a relative up to the fourth degree (Regulation Art. 12(2)); all other living-donor cases require approval by a provincial ethics commission (Art. 12(4)), and buying or selling organs is prohibited (Law Art. 3) and punishable under the Turkish Penal Code (Law Art. 15).
Nexwell does not find, supply or pay donors.
Your donor travels with you and is assessed by the transplant centre as a separate patient. A spouse married for at least two years, or a blood or in-law relative up to the fourth degree, can proceed through the standard route. A friend or more distant relative can only proceed if a provincial ethics commission approves.
Nexwell does not find, supply or pay donors. If you do not have a suitable, willing donor, a living-donor kidney transplant in Turkey is not an option we can arrange.
Can international patients receive a deceased-donor kidney?
No. Foreign patients are not added to Turkey's deceased-donor waiting list. Deceased-donor transplants are rare in Turkey and, because they depend on an organ becoming available, they cannot be planned in advance. We therefore plan every kidney case around a living donor, which lets the operation take place on a planned date.
Pre-transplant work-up
The transplant team decides which tests are needed after it has seen your records. Typically the assessment covers the recipient and the donor separately.
- HLA tissue typing and a crossmatch between donor and recipient
- Blood group compatibility
- Cardiac and vascular assessment of the recipient
- Infection screening and imaging for both people
- Donor kidney function and imaging, to confirm the donor can safely give a kidney
- Psychological and social assessment of donor and recipient
The ethics-commission step
Where the law requires it, the transplant centre submits the case to a provincial ethics commission, which checks that the donation is voluntary and unpaid. Surgery is not scheduled until approval is in place, and the commission's meeting schedule affects the timing. Once the records are complete and the donor is confirmed as suitable, the centre usually completes the pre-transplant preparations within about a week and the operation goes ahead on a planned date.
Relationship documents are usually official civil-registry documents such as birth or marriage certificates, legalised and translated as required. The transplant centre confirms the exact list for your country.
What goes into the ethics-commission file
Regulation Art. 12(6) lists the documents that must be in the application the transplant centre sends to the ethics commission. The commission can ask for more. Start gathering the relationship evidence early, and ask the centre which documents your country issues.
- A declaration of the recipient's and the donor's Turkish identity numbers (the transplant centre confirms how this applies to foreign nationals)
- A report showing the donor has the capacity of discernment
- The donor's written consent, witnessed by at least two people and confirmed by a physician
- An information form for donor and recipient, confirmed by a physician
- A medical report that donor and recipient are fit for transplant
- A petition from recipient and donor explaining how they are related, with photographs, video, letters, official documents and other evidence where available
- Declarations of the recipient's and the donor's income level, and a declaration of whether the donor has debts
- A declaration of address for the recipient and the donor, and, if the donor is married, a written declaration that the donor's spouse knows of the decision
Time limits in the regulation
The regulation sets no length of stay, and none is fixed. How long donor and recipient stay in Turkey depends on each patient's condition (including any other illness such as cancer), on their recovery and on when the transplant team clears them to travel.
Nobody can promise an approval date, and surgery is not scheduled before approval where approval is required. For the ethics background, see Is this transplant tourism?.
| Step | What the regulation says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Before applying to the ethics commission, the transplant centre registers the recipient and the donor candidate in the national software system. | Art. 12(5) |
| Waiting-list period | The recipient must be on the centre's waiting list. Outside emergencies, a living-donor transplant takes place only after the recipient has been on it for at least 3 days. | Art. 12(3) |
| Commission meetings | The ethics commission meets every 15 days as a rule, and immediately in urgent cases. | Art. 13(3) |
| Validity of an approval | Except in cases of force majeure, an approving decision is valid for 3 months. Choosing a different centre needs a new application. | Art. 13(7) |
| Refusal | Centres must comply with a negative decision. Another commission cannot decide on an application that one commission has not approved. | Art. 13(6), 13(9) |
Source: Organ Transplantation Services Regulation, Official Gazette of 9 December 2022 (issue 32038), linked under Sources.
The kidney transplant journey
STEP 1
Medical records review. Send your dialysis history, blood results and other records. The transplant team assesses whether you are a candidate.
STEP 2
Donor work-up. HLA typing, crossmatch and donor health screening, at the transplant centre or, where the centre agrees, partly in your home country.
STEP 3
Travel and pre-operative checks. Recipient and donor travel together for final assessment, consent and, where required, the ethics-commission decision.
STEP 4
Surgery. The donor kidney is removed and transplanted into the recipient by the transplant team at a Ministry of Health–licensed centre.
STEP 5
Hospital recovery. Anti-rejection medicine starts and kidney function is monitored closely. The team decides when each person is well enough to leave hospital.
STEP 6
Clearance to fly home. You travel only when the transplant team clears you, with a written medication plan and a handover letter for your home nephrologist.
Anti-rejection medicine and follow-up
After a kidney transplant you take medicines that stop your body rejecting the new kidney. A common combination is tacrolimus, mycophenolate and a steroid, adjusted by the transplant team to your situation. Blood levels, kidney function and infection signs are checked regularly.
The transplant centre gives your home nephrologist the operation report, medication plan and monitoring schedule, so care continues close to home. Do not stop or change your medicine without your transplant team.
Who reviews your case
Kidney and liver transplant cases arranged by Nexwell Clinics are reviewed together with Op. Dr. Mesut Çaynak and his transplant team at ASV Yaşam Hospital in Antalya, a Ministry of Health–licensed transplant centre.
Nexwell Clinics is a medical tourism company (Nexwell Global Solutions FZCO, Dubai). Surgery, donor evaluation and the ethics-commission application are carried out by the transplant centre, not by Nexwell.
General Surgeon
Reviews kidney and liver transplant cases with the team at ASV Yaşam Hospital, Antalya.
Page reviewed by Op. Dr. Mesut Çaynak, General Surgeon. Last reviewed 25 October 2026.
Also considering another transplant?
If a family member needs a liver rather than a kidney, read our guide to living-donor liver transplant in Turkey. For all transplant types and the rules they share, return to the organ transplants in Turkey guide.
Kidney transplant in Turkey: common questions
Are there fixed waiting times for a living-donor kidney transplant in Turkey?
The regulation sets a few limits: the recipient is registered in the national system and, outside emergencies, waits at least 3 days on the centre's list (Art. 12(3)). The ethics commission meets every 15 days, or immediately in urgent cases, and its approval is valid for 3 months (Art. 13(3), 13(7)). It sets no length of stay.
Can I bring my own donor?
Yes, if your donor is your spouse of at least two years or a relative up to the fourth degree, and is medically suitable. Any other donor, such as a friend, needs ethics-commission approval first. The transplant centre assesses the donor separately and independently, and can decline a donor for safety reasons.
Who can be a living donor under Turkish law?
A spouse of at least two years or a relative up to the fourth degree, by blood or marriage. Every other living-donor case must be approved by a provincial ethics commission. Buying or selling organs is a criminal offence, and the donor must consent freely, without payment, after an independent assessment.
Can foreigners receive a deceased-donor kidney in Turkey?
No. Foreign patients are not added to Turkey's deceased-donor waiting list, and deceased-donor transplants in Turkey are rare and cannot be planned in advance. Plans for international patients are therefore built around a living donor, who must meet the Turkish legal rules and the centre's medical criteria.
How long will we stay in Turkey?
There is no fixed length of stay. It varies from patient to patient, including with any other condition, such as cancer, that the team has to take into account, and with how donor and recipient recover and when the team clears you to fly. After the centre reviews your records, your coordinator gives you a written plan for your case.
What documents prove the donor relationship?
Usually official civil-registry documents, such as birth or marriage certificates, legalised with an apostille and translated where required. The transplant centre confirms the exact list for your country and donor. Start collecting documents early, because missing papers are a common cause of delay.
Will my home nephrologist manage my anti-rejection medicine?
Yes, that is the usual arrangement. The transplant centre provides a written medication plan, the operation report and a monitoring schedule for your home team. The centre stays available to your nephrologist for advice, but you should never change your medicine without your transplant team.
Does Nexwell find or pay donors?
No. Nexwell does not find, supply or pay donors. Nexwell coordinates records review, travel and logistics. Donor evaluation, the ethics-commission application and surgery are carried out by the transplant centre. If anyone offers you a donor for money, do not proceed, because it is illegal.
Is a kidney transplant better than dialysis?
For many suitable patients with end-stage kidney disease, a transplant is the preferred long-term treatment, but not everyone is a candidate, and a transplant needs lifelong medicine and follow-up. Your nephrologist and the transplant team decide what is right for you after reviewing your records.
Send your records for an eligibility review
Share your diagnosis, recent test results and imaging. The transplant centre's team reviews whether a transplant is medically and legally possible for you and tells you what else it needs. This is a medical review, not an offer of organs or donors. Nexwell does not find, supply or pay donors.
Related guides
Organ transplants in Turkey
The legal framework and process for every transplant type.
Read the guide →Liver transplant in Turkey
Living-donor liver transplant: who can donate and what to expect.
Read the guide →Dialysis in Turkey
Haemodialysis for patients travelling or waiting for a transplant.
Read the guide →Nephrology and kidney care
Kidney disease care from early stages to transplant evaluation.
Read the guide →Sources
- Law No. 2238 on the Removal, Storage, Grafting and Transplantation of Organs and Tissues (mevzuat.gov.tr)
- Organ Transplantation Services Regulation, Official Gazette of 9 December 2022 (resmigazete.gov.tr)
For information only, not medical advice and not an offer of treatment, organs or donors. Eligibility for any transplant is decided by the transplant centre and, where the law requires it, by an ethics commission. See our editorial policy and medical disclaimer. Nexwell Clinics is a medical tourism company (Nexwell Global Solutions FZCO, Dubai); treatment is provided by independent, Ministry of Health–licensed hospitals and clinicians. Last updated 25 October 2026.