Alpha News

Missed Opportunity: 38-Year-Old Loses Life-Saving Transplant Due to Coordination Failure

Published February 10, 2026, 12:37

A 38-year-old patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease lost a rare opportunity for a lung transplant due to a lack of coordination by the OAY (Cyprus Health Insurance Agency) for his immediate air transport to Athens. His family had waited a year for a suitable transplant, which was eventually found, but the delay in organizing the transfer led to the loss of the opportunity. The patient’s mother denounced the lack of information and apology from the OAY. Due to the situation, the family decided to emigrate to Greece in order to be close to the hospital and wait for a new opportunity. Pulmonologist Charis Armeftis pointed out that the process of finding a transplant is difficult and time-consuming, but in this case, there were coordination errors and an aircraft could have been chartered for the patient’s immediate transfer.