* Deceased organ donor helps save lives of three people awaiting organ transplants
* These are the first organ donation and transplant procedures performed since the start of Covid-19 pandemic
* More than 430,000 donors have signed up to become an organ donor since the launch of Qatar Organ Donor Registry in 2012
HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari last week met the family of a deceased organ donor whose selfless act of organ donation changed the lives of three people awaiting organ transplants.
Surgeons at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) performed the life-saving surgeries last week with the recipients on the road to recovery.
In the first organ donation and transplant procedures performed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, two kidneys and a liver from a 26-year-old were donated after his family gave permission, the HMC said in a statement Saturday.
HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari interacts with organ transplant recipients and the family of a donor
His kidneys were transplanted to two people – a 63-year-old male and a 15-year-old female patient (whose transplant procedure was performed at Sidra Medicine).
His liver was donated to a 35-year-old woman in another surgery performed by the HMC’s surgeons.
In another selfless act, a 22-year-old female law student donated one of her kidneys to her father.
This procedure was performed three weeks ago, and the father is currently recovering under the care of HMC teams.
HE Dr al-Kuwari met members of the family of the deceased donor and thanked them for their altruistic act.
She also met the recipients and their families at Hamad General Hospital (HGH) and with the young living donor and her father.
“Organ donation is not only an act of true compassion; it also saves lives. The success of Qatar’s organ donation and transplantation programmes is something, which we can be extremely proud of,” HE Dr al-Kuwari said. “We have a single, unified waiting list, and we have in place exemplary care and ongoing support for donors and their families.”
“Qatar’s national strategy for organ donation and transplantation is not only world-leading in terms of the clinical and ethical standards it applies, but Qatar also has the depth of clinical expertise and facilities to perform these procedures and provide safe and effective follow-up care for transplant patients,” she added.
Dr Yousuf al-Maslamani, the medical director of the HGH and director of Qatar Centre for Organ Transplantation, said the team had five kidney transplant procedures scheduled for December, with organs from live donors.
“An organ transplant can be a life-saving procedure, significantly improving the quality of life for someone with chronic organ failure,” he said. “Now that we have emerged from Covid-19 and are opening up more services, we have been able to restart our organ transplantation programme.”
The Covid-19 respiratory disease is caused by the coronavirus.
“This could not happen without the multidisciplinary teamwork involving the organ donation team, transplant surgeons, nephrologists, hepatologists, the histocompatibility lab and the highly-skilled nursing staff,” Dr al-Maslamani said.
“We have the technology, facilities and access to the expertise in Qatar to perform these surgeries and we also have overwhelming community support for the organ donation programme.
“Since the Qatar Organ Donor Registry was launched in 2012, more than 430,000 donors have signed up to become an organ donor.”
The man who was a recipient of a kidney from his daughter praised the care and support provided to him and his family by the HMC.
“I am thankful to my doctors and the entire team who has cared for me,” he said. “I am also grateful I was able to have this life-changing procedure here in Qatar and did not need to travel abroad.
“This has been of great comfort to me and my family.”
For more information about organ donation in Qatar, one can visit this link.
HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari during her interactions with organ transplant recipients and the family of a donor.
