Multinational kidney transplant chain saves four lives in Israel

A 16-year-old Cypriot girl named Foteini, who suffered from a rare genetic nephrotic syndrome, underwent a successful kidney transplant in Israel as part of a complex domino transplant chain. The medical operation lasted over 12 hours at Beilinson Hospital in collaboration with the Israel National Transplant Center. The chain was initiated by an altruistic donor named Asaf Mor, a 52-year-old father of four, who donated his kidney to Foteini. Foteini’s mother, Panagiota Vareli, was an incompatible donor for her daughter but successfully donated her kidney to a 27-year-old Arab woman, further continuing the chain involving two other Arab-Israeli couples. This complex sequence of four linked transplants required several months of planning and was delayed twice, once due to regional security conflicts. Medical staff involved in the process included Dr. Ilias Avraam and Dr. Eftychia Thodi from Cyprus, along with the team at Beilinson led by Dr. Eviatar Nesher. All four recipients, who come from diverse religious and national backgrounds, have recovered and were discharged from the hospital. The initiative has been cited as a significant example of medical diplomacy between Cyprus and Israel.