Cyprus and Greece are moving toward the creation of a dedicated air transfer mechanism for patients requiring urgent transplants, aiming to ensure faster transport when a donor organ becomes available.
The issue was raised at political level during a bilateral meeting between Cyprus Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides and his Greek counterpart Adonis Georgiadis on the sidelines of the informal meeting of EU health ministers held in Nicosia on 26 February.
During the meeting, the Cypriot minister proposed strengthening cooperation in the field of transplants, with particular emphasis on establishing an air medical transfer mechanism to transport patients urgently to Greece. Cyprus does not currently possess a specialised aircraft for such missions, making timely transfer critical when a compatible organ becomes available.
The Greek health minister is understood to have responded positively, with both sides agreeing that the relevant bodies in the two countries will immediately begin procedures to shape the appropriate cooperation framework. The objective is to create an operational system that guarantees the safe and rapid transfer of Cypriot patients to transplant centres in Greece.
Toward a joint operational mechanism
According to information obtained by Politis, the framework is expected to involve Greece’s National Transplant Organization and the National Emergency Aid Centre, in coordination with the health ministries of both countries. These bodies will examine operational parameters to ensure the mechanism can be activated immediately when an urgent transplant case arises.
The cooperation aims to improve Cypriot patients’ access to critical treatments while strengthening safety and efficiency in managing cases that require immediate transfer abroad.
The political discussion follows earlier technical-level consultations. On 19 February 2026, a meeting was held at the Cyprus Ministry of Health to examine the operational aspects of emergency air transfers to Greece for transplant procedures. Participants included the Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Health Elisavet Constantinou, the President of the National Emergency Aid Centre Dr Georgios Charalambous, the Director General of the Health Insurance Organisation Ifigenia Kamitsi, the Director of Health Services at the Health Insurance Organisation Monika Kyriakou, and the Vice President of the Transplant Council Dr Andreas Soloukides. Practical issues related to emergency transfers were discussed, with the aim of identifying the procedures required to implement the mechanism.
Longstanding transplant cooperation
Cooperation between Cyprus and Greece in transplantation already has an established track record. Between 2007 and 2025, Cyprus provided Greece with surplus organs that could not be used domestically. During that period, 23 heart grafts, 9 lung grafts, 63 liver grafts and 15 kidney grafts were allocated to Greece.
Over the past decade, 15 Cypriot patients have undergone lung and heart transplants in Greece, according to the Ministry of Health’s Subsidised Patients Sector.
A key milestone was the intergovernmental agreement signed in 2024, allowing Cypriot patients to be placed on Greece’s waiting lists for lung transplants. At a later stage, inclusion on heart transplant waiting lists is also expected.
The lost organ
The urgency of establishing a reliable transfer mechanism has been underscored by cases where a suitable organ becomes available but cannot be utilised in time. In such situations, time is decisive both for the patient’s transfer and for the viability of the transplant.
A recent case that drew public attention involved a 38-year-old patient who lost the opportunity to receive a lung transplant in Greece because he could not be transferred in time. Difficulties in securing immediate transport meant the organ could not be used.
The incident highlighted persistent operational gaps in handling such emergencies and reinforced calls for a structured and rapidly deployable air transfer system between Cyprus and Greece.