Azerbaijan marks first donor heart transplant anniversary with transplantation conference

A conference was held in Azerbaijan as part of “Heart Transplantation Week”, marking the first anniversary of the first donor heart transplant in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus. Local specialists were joined by transplantation experts from the United Kingdom, Türkiye and Belarus.

Deputy Health Minister Nadir Zeynalov, who opened the event, said its main goal was to discuss all stages of organ transplantation, from diagnostics and donor selection to surgery and post-operative monitoring, and to assess results and identify challenges. Professor Kamran Musayev said more than 50 patients are currently waiting for a heart transplant.

Yegana Abbasova, chair of the board of the Organ Donation and Transplantation Coordination Center, called for heart and corneal transplant operations to be included in compulsory medical insurance services. Ehliman Amiraslanov, chair of the health committee of the Milli Majlis, said Azerbaijan has achieved a number of successes in organ transplantation since gaining independence and that health spending was increased in the new state budget.