Elham Modaressi, the 33-year-old artist tortured in prison in Iran and denied medical care, received a liver transplant from a donor on February 20. Her sister, Nahid Modaressi, who has been campaigning online to ask the Turkish Ethics Committee to approve her transplant, received news of the approval on February 9.
“I was buying coffee when the hospital translator, who had witnessed all my pain, came up to me, hugged me and told me that 'all our nightmares are over.' Tears came to both of us. "I almost fainted because I couldn't find the strength to stay up," Nahid said.
Elham's family, human rights activists around the world and supporters campaigned to raise funds to cover her medical expenses and worked to find a way to get her to Canada or Spain for a transplant. However, after approval, an (unrelated) donor compatible with Elham underwent surgery after which the transplant occurred. The operation lasted nine hours and the artist is recovering.
“The fight is far from over,” Nahid said, adding that a day after feeling better, Elham's bilirubin levels are higher and the family is praying that his body does not reject the transplant. “Our fight continues because we are very worried seeing how her body reacts. She was rushed to the operating room due to heavy internal bleeding and tests showed that her condition was deteriorating. We trust the medical team,” Nahid added, thanking everyone who continues to support Elham.
As La Vanguardia reported in January, the Iranian artist was detained in November 2022 during the Women, Life, Freedom movement, when young Iranians protested following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. Elham was brutally tortured and, despite needing her medicine, she was denied access to it. She has since fled to Türkiye and her condition has continued to deteriorate. For almost a year, her family tried to get approval for a liver transplant, which was rejected several times.
When all avenues seemed to be closed, Iranian-Canadian human rights activist Nazanin Afshin-Jam, along with other activists, worked tirelessly to find a way to bring Elham to Canada for surgery. Another activist, Reina Rezaie, launched a GoFundMe campaign to help defray Elham's medical bills. Elham's family and campaigners continue to campaign to raise funds for her recovery after the operation.
In statements to 'La Vanguardia', Nazanin states: “When Elham's sister called me with the good news, I burst into tears. Nahid and I cried together. After months of making a plan A, B and C, of pressuring Turkish officials, of trying to get her a temporary visa to come to Canada and have surgery here in a hospital that had approved operating on her for free and having other countries as an alternative... Nahid and I started crying, it was a release of emotions. We have held our breath for a long time and now we can breathe again. “We are elated for Elham but know he has a long road ahead with aftercare.”
Several activists declared to 'La Vanguardia' that those who bravely fought against the authoritarian Iranian regime deserve all possible support. Upon learning of Elham's case, Dr. Martí Manyalich, president of the DTI-Donation Foundation
