Good News: Two Patients Receive Kidney Transplants Before Christmas and Will Reunite with Families Tomorrow

Tomorrow, they will be discharged and cannot wait to welcome the New Year at home with their families.

Nikolay, from Plovdiv, and Mustafa, from Dulovo, did not know each other—yet just before Christmas, they discovered they shared remarkably similar fates. Both had been on haemodialysis for exactly three and a half years, and both were scheduled to receive a kidney transplant on the same day at the same hospital. On 17 December, each received the long-awaited phone call.

Mustafa Ali recalled: “Get ready and head to Aleksandrovska, a kidney has come through. I always had hope; you live with hope. I kept telling myself that one day it would happen—and look, miracles do happen at Christmas!”

Nikolai Valkanov said: “I now have a chance at a second life! In Bulgaria, this is a topic that isn’t widely discussed. People often don’t have enough information, yet giving someone the chance for a second life is incredibly important.”

After 12 days spent together in the hospital ward, the two successfully transplanted patients discovered another shared dream: to travel—a possibility that had been out of reach during their time on dialysis. By September 2025, nearly 800 people in Bulgaria will still be waiting for a kidney, with significantly fewer awaiting a new heart or lung.

Regardless of the donor situation, the shortage of donors remains a critical issue. Doctors note that obtaining consent from relatives is still a key requirement.

Assoc. Prof. Plamen Dimitrov, Urologist and Head of the Operating Unit at Aleksandrovska Hospital’s Urology Clinic, explained: “Clearly, for these families, this may be one of the most difficult moments of their lives—especially when parents must give consent for their child. They face a hard decision, but once made, they know they are helping other people.”

Since the start of the year, Aleksandrovska Hospital has performed 15 kidney transplants, two of which involved living donors.