17.07.2026 23:20
A new claim has been added to the allegations that disposable medical supplies are being reused at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University (KSU) Faculty of Medicine Hospital. Hanifi Çöplü, President of Kahramanmaraş Health Association, alleged that the expiration dates of single-use catheters were altered by printing new barcodes on them and that they were used on patients.
Hanifi Çöplü, President of Kahramanmaraş Health Association, made statements regarding allegations that some medical supplies, which should be single-use, at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University (KSU) Faculty of Medicine Hospital were reused on other patients instead of being disposed of after procedures.
“THERE ARE SINGLE-USE STENTS, CATHETERS, AND SAPHENOUS VEIN MATERIALS USED IN BLOOD-RELATED PROCEDURES”
Çöplü argued that this practice could increase the risk of infection and stated that the processes related to some patients who died due to infections should also be investigated from this perspective. Çöplü, who stated that he filed complaints with CIMER (Presidential Communication Center) and the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the issue, said: “This incident is actually related to the procedures carried out in the sterilization unit of Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Hospital for about six years. There are single-use stents, catheters, and saphenous vein materials used in blood-related procedures here. The allegations are grouped under three headings. First, expired stents are shown as if they have been implanted into patients by renewing their dates. A court process has also started regarding this in a separate file. The second issue is the saphenous vein materials used in bypass surgeries to remove veins.
“THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION HERE IS WHO THIS MONEY WENT TO”
Normally, it is alleged that this single-use material, worth approximately 650 Euros, is being resterilized and used on different patients, and patients are charged around 1,250 Euros. The most important question here is who this money went to. Did the company receive it, did the hospital receive it, or did someone else profit? An investigation into this has begun. Because there are deceased patients and hundreds of victims. They say 'an infection occurred,' but patients are getting infected due to this material.”
“UNFAIR PROFIT ALLEGATIONS NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED”
Çöplü, stating that the most striking issue is the catheters, said: “According to the allegations, packages of expired catheters are opened, their expiration dates are changed, and new barcodes are printed on them, and they are reused on patients. This is not a production center. It is unacceptable in a hospital to re-barcode a single-use medical material and implant it into a patient. If a patient died after contracting an infection due to this catheter, this must definitely be investigated. We know that two patients who had kidney transplants about seven months ago died due to infection. Both received kidneys from the same cadaver on the same day and passed away two days apart. It needs to be investigated whether there is a connection between these deaths and the materials used. We have filed a complaint with CIMER and submitted the information and documents we have to the authorities. We have correspondence indicating that some staff working in the sterilization unit objected to these practices. While the state has the power to provide new versions of these materials, the reuse of single-use products and the allegations of unfair profit gained from this must be fully uncovered,” he said.