A warning that organs might be removed from Brits who die in Turkey without permission from loved ones has emerged after the death of a mum at a public hospital in Istanbul.
Beth Martin’s heart was allegedly secretly removed during a family holiday with her husband and their two children.
The 28-year-old, from Portsmouth, died of ‘cardiac arrest due to multiple organ failure’, the Turkish health ministry said.
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) guidance states that in the case of a post-mortem: ‘Small tissue samples and organs may be removed for testing without the family’s permission.
‘You will not automatically be told if this happens.’
Turkey has a reputation for being a global hotspot of illegal organ harvesting. There is no suggestion that this happened in Beth’s case.
Separate FCDO travel advice warns British health tourists about possible fatal consequences from treatment in the country.
The travel advisory reads: ‘We are aware of six British nationals having died in Turkey in 2024 following medical procedures.
‘Some British nationals have also experienced complications and needed further treatment or surgery following their procedure.’
Turkish officials have insisted that ‘there was no question of any organs being removed’ and Beth did not undergo any surgical procedure at the hospital.
However, her family has been left with many unanswered questions after an autopsy in the UK later revealed her heart was removed after she died.
A GoFundMe appeal supporting the family says: ‘The Turkish hospital has removed it. No explanation. No consent.
‘They have invaded her body and they have TAKEN her heart. Her heart. The piece of Beth that was more treasured more than any other.
‘The piece of her that stopped for a moment when she heard her children’s first words.’
The British tourist was taken to hospital just a day into her holiday with husband Luke and their children, aged eight and five, after falling ill on the plane to Istanbul.
By the morning, she had become ‘delirious’ and was rushed to Marmara University Hospital, which is rated 2.5 on Google.
While doctors raised concerns about her heart, she died on April 29, a day after she was admitted, and her family say they were kept in the dark about her condition.
Luke even says he was accused of poisoning his wife by police before he was released.
After ‘begging and pleading’ with officials at the hospital, he was allowed into the morgue to say goodbye to his wife, according to the fundraising page.
The grieving husband was permitted ‘one minute, no more,’ with staff peering over his shoulder at all times.
Beth’s mother was allowed to see her but was under strict instructions ‘to wash her hands, not touch her and not even kiss her.’
‘Yet again, staff were over her shoulder, she couldn’t even embrace her dead daughter’s body,’ said Robert Hammond who started the fundraiser.
Beth’s family now suspects her death may be linked to a missed heart condition or an allergic reaction to penicillin, which they believe she may have been administered despite being allergic.
In a Facebook post, Luke wrote about suffering the ‘deepest level of trauma’ over how and why Beth died.
‘It has been the worst and most traumatic week of my entire life, and to top it off.. I had to break the news to my babies that their mum is not coming home, it broke me,’ he wrote.
‘Even more so when I had to say goodbye to them so they could be brought home by family.’
Metro has attempted to reach the hospital for comment.
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