Nearly 700 Azerbaijanis Pledge to Donate Organs After Death
Azerbaijan has reached a new milestone in medical progress: the country successfully performed its first posthumous organ transplant, marking a major breakthrough for the South Caucasus.
“This is an important step not only for our country but for the entire region,” said Dr. Mirjalal Kazimi, a surgeon at the Central Customs Hospital and transplant specialist, speaking to Report.
He noted that several patients have already regained their health thanks to the transplantation of livers, kidneys, and corneas from deceased donors.
“Organ donation is now seen as a humanitarian mission for the benefit of society,” Dr. Kazimi added. “We are encouraged that around 600 to 700 citizens have already given consent to donate their organs after death.”
Dr. Eghyana Abbasova, chair of the Organ Donation and Transplantation Coordination Center, noted that Azerbaijan performed the first organ transplant in the South Caucasus back in 1971 and achieved its first successful liver transplant from a living donor in 2008.
“In 2025, Azerbaijan successfully carried out its first organ transplant from a deceased donor,” she said. “While it took 30 years for Turkey and 10 years for Spain to reach this stage after establishing their coordination centers, Azerbaijan achieved it in just two years.”
The progress follows the establishment of the national Organ Donation and Transplantation Coordination Center by a Cabinet of Ministers decree in late 2022.
At a recent international conference on organ transplantation in Sumgayit, Mayor Zakir Farajov called the event “a serious and responsible step” for national healthcare.
“Only 305 transplant operations have been performed in Azerbaijan this year – a modest figure,” he said. “But the pace of posthumous transplants will accelerate in the coming years.”
Globally, around 150,000 to 160,000 transplants are performed annually – meeting only 10% of global demand, according to Parliament Health Committee Chairman Ahliman Amiraslanov, who also underscored the importance of Azerbaijan’s new law On Organ and Tissue Transplantation.
“The law was passed after extensive hearings and discussions,” he said. “The Coordination Center has already delivered remarkable results.”
Compulsory health insurance is also playing a growing role in making organ transplants accessible, said Anar Israfilov, deputy executive director of TABIB, the State Agency for Mandatory Health Insurance.
“Many transplant operations are now included in the insurance package,” Israfilov said. “We believe more donors will soon be found for patients on waiting lists.”
One of those patients, Myanzar Sharifova, became the first person in Azerbaijan to receive a liver from a deceased donor.
“My life has completely changed,” she said. “For two years, I was on dialysis. Then, near midnight, my doctor called to say a donor had been found. The surgery was successful, and now I feel like I’ve been reborn. I’m endlessly grateful to the doctors and the donor’s family.”
According to Dr. Abbasova, more than 1,000 patients are currently waiting for organ transplants nationwide. The Ministry of Health is now considering adding genetic testing to the national insurance package to support bone marrow and stem cell transplants.
