A Cypriot family, a Jewish volunteer donor and two Arab couples living in Israel were recently linked through a domino effect transplant system involving a chain of donors that saved four lives.

The procedure that lasted over 12 hours saved four people, who are all well and have already been discharged.

The 16-year-old girl received a kidney from the Jewish father of four children.

The girl’s mother was not a compatible donor for her daughter, however she was found to be compatible with a 27-year-old woman of Arab origin who had been waiting for a transplant for years. The 27-year-old’s husband then donated his kidney to another man of Arab origin, whose wife then offered a kidney to a woman in need.

The Cypriot girl’s transplant was a joint effort between the Beilinson hospital and the national transplant centre of Israel.

Head of the Beilinson hospital transplant department Eviatar Nesher said the cooperation between Cyprus and Israel was one of the most impressive achievements of medical diplomacy.

Speaking on CyBC radio, paediatrician and paediatric nephrologist Eftychia Thodi said the “domino transplants” gave four people a better life and expressed hope that more such endeavours would follow.

The Cypriot girl was due to travel to Israel earlier, but the trip was postponed due to the Middle East conflict.

Thodi said three months had passed before it was possible for the girl to be sent to Israel safely.

Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides expressed his gratitude to the donors and their families, who gave life and hope to people who were total strangers.

Charalambides told the CyBC that the domino transplants were a reminder that organ donation “transcends borders, religions and nationality”.