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Cypriot Patient Loses Transplant Opportunity Due to Flight Delays

Published February 10, 2026, 14:21
Cypriot Patient Loses Transplant Opportunity Due to Flight Delays

A 38-year-old Cypriot patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease lost the opportunity for a lung transplant due to delays in air transport that would have taken him from Cyprus to Athens. The patient had found a suitable transplant, but the Health Insurance Organization (HIO) failed to arrange the air transport within the required timeframe. The patient's family accuses the HIO of lack of information and delay in finding air ambulance, while the HIO responds that it followed the prescribed procedure of contacting cooperating air transport companies. The patient's mother expressed her disappointment over the lost opportunity, emphasizing that timely information would have allowed the family to find alternative solutions. The patient remains confined to his home, and the family has moved to Athens to be close to the hospital in case of a new transplant opportunity. The case has sparked discussion about the effectiveness of air transport procedures for transplant patients.