Chilling travel warning over Turkey organ harvesting after Brit mum Beth Martin has ‘heart taken' following tragic death

Scottish Sun

23-05-2025

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CHILLING travel warnings have been issued for tourists visiting Turkey amid Brit mum Beth Martin's mysterious death in Istanbul's public hospital.
Ms Martin, 28, tragically died after suddenly falling ill during her dream holiday in the country.
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Luke and Beth Martin had been on a dream holiday to Turkey when tragedy struck on April 27
Credit: GoFundMe
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Mum Beth from Portsmouth reportedly fell ill on her way to Turkey
Credit: GoFundMe
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Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul where Ms Martin died
She was rushed to a two-star-rated public hospital, where she is said to have taken her last breath and had her heart allegedly removed without any permission.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) warns that coroners in Turkey can take small tissue samples and organs for testing "without the family's permission" under Turkish laws.
The advisory says that these orphans are usually returned before the person's body is released.
However, Turkish authorities "might keep the body parts without permission in exceptional circumstances", the foreign office warned.
The travel warning was placed before Ms Martin's death and has nothing to do with her tragic case.
That's because hospitals in Turkey have faced accusations of stealing organs and facilitating illegal transplants.
Meanwhile, the British government in its travel advisory warned tourists to be aware of medical treatments in the country.
The Foreign Office suggested that people visiting the country for medical tourism should exercise caution and discuss plans with a UK doctor beforehand.
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."
Brit mum, 28, mysteriously dies on Turkey holiday before horrified family find 'her HEART had been removed by doctors'
Ms Martin was wheeled to Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital - a low-rated public hospital built on the outskirts of the Turkish capital.
After scrambling for an ambulance, she was finally admitted to the hospital, which offers Istanbul's International Patient Service serving foreign patients.
The doctors are understood to have checked her heart by performing an angiogram - a form of X-ray that shows blood vessels.
After doing the checks, the doctors told husband Luke they did not find anything suspicious.
However, Ms Martin was dead by the very next day - leaving Luke to explain the tragedy to their two young children, aged 8 and 5.
Her family claims they were left completely in the dark by Turkish authorities throughout the whole ordeal.
And sickeningly, once they finally got back to the UK with her body, a UK autopsy revealed her heart had been removed - without any prior consent or authorisation.
Marmara Pendik Hospital is now facing a negligence investigation over Ms Martin's sudden death, according to Ms Martin's family.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) is also making its own enquiries with local authorities, the Daily Mail reports.
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The public hospital has a low rating on Google, averaging just two stars.
A website operated by the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Health states that the hospital's principles are "transparency and accountability [with] people at the focal point of the fairness of the health service that is excellent".
The Sun has reached out to the hospital for comment.
Meanwhile, Luke told how he was then shocked when Turkish police initially accused him of poisoning and killing his wife after her shocking death.
She was being treated in intensive care, he said, before adding he was banned from seeing her.
Beth and Luke's parents flew out the following day and were again kept in the dark.
They were then shocked to discover Beth had been transferred to another hospital overnight, due to "concerns with her heart", with none of the family members informed.
Close friend Ellie, who travelled to Turkey to try and help, detailed her experience of what happened after Beth's death.
She revealed that Beth was supposed to be transferred to a private clinic.
But the public hospital was slow to act and "stopped her" from doing so.
She told how the doctors were acting strangely.
Ellie explained: "All they went on about is 'are you going to sue the hospital? Sign this bit of paper'.
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The hospital has low ratings on Google
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Beth pictured with her husband Luke
Credit: gofundme
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Luke was initially accused of poisoning Beth
Credit: GoFundMe
"I said: 'Is there something we should be suing for? Do you know something we don't? Because that's really suspicious.'"
The family, who have not been told her cause of death, claim they were also forced to carry Beth in a body bag through the hospital.
She blasted the hospitals, saying: "The insurance company wanted to move her to a private hospital but the public hospital in Istanbul were not cooperating, they were being slow and delaying reports and not sending information over.
"They stopped her."
She noted how suspicious it was that Beth's hair was in "perfect" shape despite the mum undergoing "45 minutes of CPR".
She speculated: "They said they did 45 minutes of CPR but anyone who has ever had CPR or has seen CPR knows how brutal it is.
"When I saw Beth in the morgue after she had her hair in two French plaits and they were perfect.
"There is no way they did CPR for 45 minutes, I know that," she defiantly stated."
She added that medical reports rule out food poisoning as a cause of death, but they still do not confirm how exactly the mum died.