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ASELSAN’s Heart-Lung Machine Used on 57 Patients: Who Is Behind the ‘4 Countries’ Claim?

ASELSAN’s Heart-Lung Machine Used on 57 Patients: Who Is Behind the ‘4 Countries’ Claim?
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Türkiye’s Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said on 28 October 2026 that ASELSAN’s domestically developed heart-lung machine has been used on 57 patients in three hospitals. In the same post he said only four countries can produce this technology. Both claims currently rest on the minister’s statement alone: the hospitals, dates and patient outcomes have not been published.

Last updated: 29 October 2026

What the minister actually said

According to Anadolu Agency, Memişoğlu wrote on social media: “In a critical technology that only 4 countries in the world can produce, we said ‘we are here too’.” He added that the device was built with domestic means and had been used “successfully” on 57 patients across three hospitals.

The line circulating online that it “saved 57 lives” does not appear in the Anadolu text. The minister’s wording is that officials “accompanied” patients on their “road to recovery”. A heart-lung machine takes over circulation during surgery, and “used on” and “saved a life” are clinically different statements. This article sticks to the source’s wording.

The device: ASELSAN LIFELINE HLM

The machine is called the ASELSAN LIFELINE HLM. Its first clinical use took place at Ankara Bilkent City Hospital and was announced on 26 June 2026. Haluk Görgün, head of the Presidency of Defence Industries, announced the operation on X, saying the device took over the patient’s circulation and oxygenation and that Türkiye had bought this critical device abroad for years. We found no source describing Görgün as the project’s developer or lead; his statement reads as a public announcement.

Reports describe the machine as a joint effort of ASELSAN and the Health Ministry, with animal experiments and clinical studies run by TÜSEB, the ministry’s health institutes agency. Hürriyet Daily News reported in May 2025 that ASELSAN and TÜSEB agreed to cooperate in 2020, that the device passed pre-clinical lab testing at Bilkent City Hospital with successful blood tests, and that it can be run manually during a power or battery failure. TÜSEB head Ümit Kervan said it outperformed existing devices; the comparison data has not been published.

What a heart-lung machine does

In open-heart surgery the heart is stopped or immobilised so the surgeon can operate. The heart-lung machine, known clinically as a cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) system, draws the patient’s blood out, oxygenates it and pumps it back. It combines pumps, an oxygenator, temperature control and monitoring. Single-use sets such as oxygenators and tubing are replaced for every operation, so the market covers disposables as well as the console.

Officials cited by Anadolu put Türkiye’s open-heart surgeries at about 80,000 a year.

The “only four countries” claim

The source of the claim is Minister Memişoğlu. We found no independent count, industry report or international body that supports it. The number also varies: the minister said four countries, some reports say Türkiye becomes the fifth producer, and earlier coverage spoke of “five companies”. Countries and companies are different units, so the figure should be read as an official statement, not an established fact.

From the outside, the market looks like this. In a 2023 MedTech Dive report, LivaNova’s CEO put the cardiopulmonary market at roughly $2 billion a year, about $800 million of it capital equipment and $1.2 billion disposables. The article cites an estimated 70% share for LivaNova and about 7,000 installed machines worldwide; these are company estimates. Maquet, part of Getinge, appears in regulatory databases with its HL-series consoles, and market reports also list Medtronic, Terumo, Braile Biomédica, Eurosets and MERA. That list does not show on what basis “only four or five” was counted.

Import dependence

Görgün’s remark that the device was procured abroad for years is the official confirmation of dependence. We found no sourced figures on import volumes, units or cost, so we give none. The share of domestic content has not been disclosed either; figures such as “90 percent” in some reports are not tied to an official document and are not used here.

Still unanswered

  • Which hospitals treated the 57 patients, and over what period.
  • Complication, mortality or comparative clinical data.
  • Regulatory authorisation and CE status; we could not reach an ASELSAN product page.
  • Serial production timing and volumes. An earlier report’s “serial production in 2026” could not be confirmed, so it is left out.

ASELSAN’s health business

ASELSAN’s other visible health product is the HealthView ADR-M100 mobile digital X-ray: 30 units were delivered to the Health Ministry and 300 more are planned, though sources give the timeline as either two years or 2030. For the company’s wider order book, see our backlog report.

FAQ

How many patients has the Turkish heart-lung machine been used on?

According to Minister Memişoğlu’s 28 October 2026 statement, 57 patients in three hospitals. Hospital names and dates were not given.

How many countries make heart-lung machines?

The minister said four; some reports count Türkiye as the fifth. No independent tally exists, so treat it as an official claim.

What is the ASELSAN heart-lung machine called?

ASELSAN LIFELINE HLM. Its first clinical use was announced in June 2026 at Ankara Bilkent City Hospital.

Sources

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