Like a Soap Opera
The Ağalı family from Bartın lived a life like an old soap opera. Bilal, the eldest son of the family, died of liver failure 8 years ago. Father Mehmet Ağalı, who could only endure the pain of the child for 4 months, committed suicide by hanging himself. 8 years after this incident, the other son of the family, Mehmet, died due to the electric current in the transformer he went out to repair. Just as the disasters were over, this time, Yaşar Ağalı, the youngest son of the family, was diagnosed with cirrhosis, like the older brother whom he lost years ago. While the Ağalı family was preparing itself for a new death, the youngest sister Fatma gave her liver to her brother and finished the dramatic movie with a happy ending.
The story of the Ağalı family with 10 children, which was not quite different from a soap opera, started 8 years ago. Bilal Ağalı, the eldest son of the family who worked as a doorman in Istanbul, was diagnosed with liver failure. Bilal Ağalı, who went to state hospitals for treatment for years, could not recover. Bilal’s body, whose liver failure turned into cirrhosis, had first turned yellow. His eyes were completely blind and he died at the age of 42, unable to fight the disease any longer.
The father could not endure the pain of losing a child
Bilal’s death caused great devastation in the family. The father, Mehmet Ağalı, who suffered every day from the pain of not being able to do anything during the period when his son was getting closer to death every day, could not recover. The father,who could only endure the pain of his son for 4 months, committed suicide by hanging himself on the terrace of his house in Bartın.
The catastrophe that came after 8 years
Bad fate did not let the Ağalı family away. Mehmet, who has the same name as his father, went to his village in Bartın during the last eid. 52-year-old Mehmet Ağalı, who is engaged in electrical work, went to the transformer to fix a fault in the village. He died by getting caught in the electric current in the transformer and this tragedy reminded the family again of their bad fate years later.
The common fate of the brothers
Yaşar Ağalı, the father of 3 children, who was destroyed by the unexpected death of his brother, was destroyed by the bad news he received about his health before he could even mourn. Yaşar Ağalı was suffering from liver failure due to Hepatitis B and he was tried to be treated with drugs like his brother Bilal who worked in the cleaning company and died years ago. In their last analysis after 4 years of effort, doctors told Yaşar Ağalı that his disease progressed and turned into cirrhosis.
Little Sister Stopped the Drama
The Ağalı family took action to prevent losing another sibling to cirrhosis. They contacted the Head of Ataşehir Memorial Hospital Organ Transplantation and General Surgery Department Prof. Dr.K. Yalçın Polat and received the information that Yaşar could be saved by organ transplantation. Since Yaşar’s condition worsened day by day, it was decided to perform liver transplantation immediately. First, the suitability of his daughter’s liver was checked. However, when it was not appropriate, other relatives were contacted. The good news for Yaşar came from Fatma, one of her twin sisters living in Bartın.
She gave a life to her brother
Fatma Ağalı came to Istanbul as soon as she learned about her brother Yaşar’s situation and she immediately passed the controls to be a donor. It was determined that there was no problem in giving her liver to her brother. They were operated by Prof. Dr. K. Yalçın Polat and his team. After the successful surgery, a liver has been taken from Fatma was transplanted to her brother, Yaşar.
I thought I’d die like my brother
Explaining that bad fate never left them, Yaşar Ağalı said “I have had a problem in my liver for years. I was taking medicine for this. But the drugs didn’t stop my disease from progressing. Doctors said I had cirrhosis like my brother. I thought I was going to die like my brother. My sister Fatma gave me a life like my mother. I started a new chapter in my life, thanks to her.”.
I didn’t want to live the same fate
Fatma Ağalı, who lost her brother 8 years ago because of cirrhosis and said that she did not want to live the same fate again, said, “I was very afraid of losing my elder brother Yaşar from the same disease. Disasters have haunted us for years. If we were so conscious, maybe I could save my brother Bilal by giving my liver as well. I didn’t think for a second to give my liver. If I came to the world once more, I would again give my liver to my brother without even thinking.”
He started his life again
Ataşehir Memorial Hospital Head of Organ Transplantation and General Surgery Department Prof. Dr. K. Yalçın Polat stated that the only alternative in such cases is to perform liver transplantation. “Our patient was in the last stage of liver failure when he applied to our center. More dangers were awaiting him after that point. Unfortunately, we lose our patients with such diseases if they are not transplanted after a while. The name of our patient was on the cadaver list, but since the number of cadavers in Turkey is low, no organ was found during this period. Alternatively, we did examinations of living donors. First, a detailed evaluation of her daughter was made, but we decided that she was not suitable. It was a chance for our patient that his twin sister would be suitable in all aspects. He came back to life with a liver transplant. A very healthy life awaits him if he has regular checks and pays attention to his lifestyle.”
Dr. Polat stated that Turkey has improved technique and infrastructure on liver transplantation in recent years, and the number of liver transplants, which was 150 in 2002, has increased to 250 thousand today.