EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL TRANSPLANTATION

As Founder and Chair of the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation (MESOT), it was an honor and a privilege to organize the 19th Congress of the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation (MESOT) on November 3-5, 2025 in Ankara, Turkey. The Congress was endorsed by The Turkish Transplantation Society (TOND), The Turkic World Transplantation Society (TDTD), Başkent University, and its companies. Since its inception, MESOT aims to promote and encourage education, research and cooperation in the field of organ transplantation in the Middle East, African and neighboring Mid-Asian countries and to deal with a range of transplantation-related problems in countries that share similar sociocultural characteristics. Transplantation activities in MESOT countries are growing daily. The Congress designed to bring together the transplant community in the Middle East and the world to provide a forum for sharing best practices and innovations in the field of organ donation and transplantation. Discussions took place at the highest level and attendees had a chance to share and learn from each other. We would like to thank to all participants for their time, effort and valuable contribution. The 19th Congress of the MESOT had a very special meaning for us as at the same time, we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Organ Transplantation in Turkey. It was on November 3, 1975 that our team performed the first successful living related kidney transplantation in Turkey from a mother to her 12-year-old son at Hacettepe University Hospitals. This has been a milestone in the development of organ donation and transplantation in Turkey and provided hope for millions of chronic organ disease patients. MESOT 2025 Congress had been part of our celebration of this impressive history. Within this frame, the First MESOT Pre-congress Workshop on Brain and Circulatory Death: Religion, Life Donation and Transplantation took place on November 4, 2025 in Ankara, Turkey. The program is designed and organized under the umbrella of Başkent University, Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation (MESOT), The Turkish Transplantation Society (TOND) and The Turkic World Transplant Society (TDTD) and is supported by Dr. Marcelo Cantarovich and by Dr. Andrea Herrera-Gayol. The aim of this workshop was to provide an overview of the current status of DBD and DCD, especially controlled DCD- in Turkey and the Middle East. The topic was of high scientific interest, and participation was at its maximum. Professor Dr. Kemal Memişoğlu, Minister of Health of the Republic of Turkey, attended the opening ceremony and delivered the opening speech before the meeting commenced. The Congress boasted 36 invited speakers worldwide including MESOT Past Presidents, MESOT Executive Committee Members and Councilors, TTS President, TTS Past Presidents, Presidents of the National Transplant Societies in the Middle East and Africa as well as renowned scientists in their respective fields. A total of 575 participants from 41 countries worldwide have attended the Congress where 36 invited lectures, 94 oral and 193 poster presentations were scheduled. On the first day of the Congress, the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group (DICG), where we hosted the founding of the Declaration of Istanbul (DOI), hold a session on “Hot Topics of the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group” moderated by DICG Co-Chair Thomas Müller and me. In addition, DICG organized a workshop about “Realities of Incentives in Living and Deceased Organ Donation.” Both sessions were designed to facilitate interactive and constructive exchanges grounded in the universal principles and values of the DOI. The sessions also promoted learning from cultural diversity, particularly regarding transparency, organ trafficking, and incentives in organ donation. On the second day of the Congress, by the leadership of Dr. Marti Manyalich, the Donation and Transplantation Institute (DTI) organized a workshop on “Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) Practices and Procedures” that aimed to increase the donation rates by providing a practical workshop focused on the topics of death determination, management, and recovery of DCD donors. The workshop provided a unique experience and addressed health professionals who are involved in any step of the organ donation process, particularly those working in referral units and surgical departments such as critical care, anesthesiology, emergency departments, transplant surgeons, and transplant coordinators. Attendees enjoyed an outstanding opportunity to network with colleagues, engage in an exchange of ideas and unique educational opportunities by listening to scientific presentations of worldwide research and innovative developments emerging in the field of transplantation. Prof. Ghnaimat, President of MESOT, Prof. John Fung, President of TTS, and I closed the meeting with a final word of thanks to all attendees and everyone involved in the organization. The 19th Congress of the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation (MESOT) was highly successful, receiving positive feedback from attendees. The meeting achieved its goal of fostering collaboration and advancing education, training, and knowledge-sharing. The manuscripts presented during the plenary sessions and symposia, which you have currently in your hands, were published as Congress Proceedings. Once again, I want to express my sincere gratitude for your participation in the MESOT 2025 Congress. Your presence contributed immensely to the event’s success, and we truly appreciate your support. Sincerely,

Foreword
Distinguished Guests, Dear Colleagues, I stand before you as a pediatric nephrologist, and I am honored to share the story of a remarkable 47-year friendship with Mehmet Haberal that began during our residency, racing through the hospital corridors. Both of us returned to our country, to Hacettepe, from our training in the United States in 1975, eager to apply what we had learned. At the time, I was treating a family with a son in his teenage years, suffering from juvenile nephronophthisis, with no other option than transplantation It was my duty to convince the family, persuade the mother to donate her kidney, and manage the initial preparations for the patient. Mehmet Haberal took charge of securing the necessary medications, which were not yet available in our country, as well as navigating the legal procedures, planning surgery, and overseeing post-operative care. Thus, in November 1975, we achieved the first living-donor kidney transplant in our country. While I continued my academic career at a normal pace, focusing on general medical education, pediatrics, the training of modern pediatric nephrologists, and the institutionalization of pediatric nephrology across the country, and eventually retiring, Mehmet Haberal pursued a relentless, almost superhuman pace. His extraordinary achievements-many of which you are already familiar with-include ground-breaking work in kidney transplantation, burn treatment, the founding of a medical faculty, establishing a foundation, building universities, and modern hospitals in numerous cities throughout the country. Beyond these monumental successes, he amplified his voice across the globe, forging strong ties with colleagues in both the East and the West, and putting our country on the map, particularly in the field of kidney transplantation. He has been honored with countless awards and accolades. But beyond all these accomplishments, as many of you may have observed, the greatest award that should be bestowed upon Mehmet Haberal is for his loyalty. He holds his mentors and friends in the highest regard, and he is deeply attentive to their needs-whether in resolving their health issues or ensuring they are employed at his university during their retirement, or seeing that their wealth of knowledge is appreciated. There is a saying he often repeats at every gathering: “One who does not show loyalty cannot find prosperity.” We-myself, our entire nation, and the broader medical community-are proud to call him our colleague and friend. We are honored by his companionship. I firmly believe that he will continue to advance his work, dedicating himself to his patients, his country, and transplantation until his very last breath.

Volume: 24 Issue: 6 June 2026 - Supplement - 2

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