The Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, announced that Al-Qassimi Hospital Sharjah had successfully conducted a new kidney transplant surgery for 20 years old patient with kidney failure, after a lengthy 6-hour operation.
An Emirati surgical staff, comprising Dr. Suad Sajwani, consultant nephrologist, and Dr. Yunus Al Shamsi, consultant urologist at Al Qasimi Hospital had performed the surgery, collaboratively with Dr. Farhad Al Janahi and Dr. Waldo Concepcion from the Visiting Consultants Office.
Speaking about the achievement, His Excellency Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al-Owais, the Minister of Health, said: “The success of this surgery is a value-added to the country’s healthcare system, thanks to the unlimited support of the leadership and its optimal and sustainable investment in the national medical cadres, as well as the availability of the massive resources and potential, making a big difference in the provision of comprehensive and integrated healthcare services in accordance with the highest international standards and as well strengthening the country’s competitiveness in all medical specialties, including organ transplant.”
Great competence
Expressing pride in the highly competent Emirati medical team, Al-Owais stated that the leadership is fully confident in the great competence of the national medical cadres, who showed outstanding capabilities and talents in all medical specialties, consolidating the community confidence in health services, as well as reinforcing the country's position as one of the world’s medical leaders.
The Health Minister added: “This achievement falls within the National Organ Transplant Program, which is one of the outcomes of Federal Decree-Law No. (5) of 2016, promulgated by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, regarding the regulation of the transplantation of human organs and tissues, and two months after His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, approved a decision to establish National Centre to Regulate Human Organs and Tissues Transplantation, as part of Ministry of Health and Prevention.”
Congratulating the medical team on this new achievement, His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Salim Al Olama, the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, and Head of Board of Directors of the Emirates Health Services Corporation said: “The successful kidney transplant surgery is a new achievement for MoHAP, as part of its strategy to boost the health of the individuals through providing comprehensive, innovative, and fair health services as per international standards,” said “, in line with the latest international health standards.”
He added that such accomplishments underline that the UAE is replete with national medical competencies that are capable of performing complex surgeries, including organ transplant, thanks to the availability of resources, capabilities, health facilities, IT infrastructure, and international partnerships with the long-standing specialized institutions to achieve the aspirations of the country to be a regional and global example in the transplantation of human organs and tissues field.
His Excellency Dr. Youssif Al Serkal, Director-General of the Emirates Health Services Corporation, said: “We are extremely proud of the great competence of the Emirati surgical staff of MoHAP, who had an important contribution to this honorable medical achievement, representing a national example of creativity and innovation.”
Al-Serkal underlined that organ transplant is of the most important and substantial solutions to save lives of patients with organs failure and improve the quality of their life, as well as alleviate the suffering of their families, pointing to the first successful artificial heart transplant in UAE in 2015.
Dr. Yunus Al Shamsi expressed happiness with the success of the surgery, where he oversaw the preoperative patient preparation, the conformity of the examinations with the surgical intervention criteria, as well as the patient’s readiness for the operation, underlining that the surgical team adopted the best international medical practices in performing kidney transplant surgery. This has contributed to the success of the operation, without any health any complications for the patient and the donor.
Constant follow-up
Dr. Suad Sajwani stressed that both the patient and the donor are in good and stable conditions, where the lab tests showed that the new kidney is working well without any inflammations or complications. The patient was transferred to the ICU to be under constant follow-up, while the donor was transferred to the general surgery department.
Both the patient and the donor were discharged after the lab tests showed that they are in stable health condition, underlining that they will be under constant follow-up according to the approved medical protocols.