More than 150 organ transplants have been carried out at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: The Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has carried out extra than 150 organ transplants until date, with the milestone being reached simply 4 years after the hospital launched its multi-organ transplant programme.

Since 2017, the hospital has carried out 82 kidney transplants, 52 liver transplants, 10 coronary heart transplants, six lung transplants, three mixed pancreas-kidney transplants, and one mixed kidney-liver transplant. “It is humbling to see the life-changing impact our transplant program has had on patients and their families across the UAE. That we have reached this 150 organ transplant milestone during the centennial year [of the Cleveland Clinic in the United States] is a fantastic acknowledgement of the legacy of innovation and patient-centred care we are continuing here in Abu Dhabi,” stated Dr. Bashir Sankari, director of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s transplant programme.

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Despite rising numbers of registered organ donors, demand continues to outpace provide and there stays an extended ready listing of sufferers who require a transplant. In order to mitigate the influence of this and provide a recent lifeline to sufferers ready for a brand new liver, the hospital’s multidisciplinary transplant staff labored with their colleagues at Cleveland Clinic within the United States to introduce advanced dwelling associated liver transplants that allow kin to donate a part of their liver to members of the family in want.

This step has meant that 22 sufferers have been capable of entry life-saving transplants while not having to attend for a suitable donor organ to change into obtainable. The influence of this introduction has unfold past the UAE, with sufferers travelling from overseas to entry dwelling associated transplant providers. Recently, a 14-year-old affected person travelled to Abu Dhabi from Sudan in order that he may obtain a part of his brother’s liver.

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“The introduction of living related liver donation has been a huge boost to some of the country’s sickest patients. We are building on that success with the introduction of combined organ transplants that see patients receive two new organs in a single surgery. We are very proud to be among just a handful of centers in the world able to offer this highly complex level of care,” stated Dr. Luis Campos, director of the liver transplant programme and head of hepatobiliary surgical procedure at the hospital.

Surgeons at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi carried out the UAE’s first pancreas transplant in a mixed operation that additionally noticed a younger girl obtain a brand new kidney. Following the profitable surgical procedure, the affected person is now not reliant on insulin injections to regulate her blood sugar and has successfully been cured of her diabetes. Since her operation, two extra sufferers have acquired mixed kidney and pancreas transplants. Surgeons at the hospital additionally carried out the nation’s first mixed liver and kidney transplant.

“Caregivers from across Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi come together to form the backbone of our multidisciplinary transplant programme. Their and our donors’ contributions to the health and future of our community cannot be overstated. Each successful operation is another person who can return home to his or her life and family, and I am so proud of every caregiver who helps to make that happen,” Dr. Sankari stated.