Hamad Medical Corporation ( HMC) has performed 30 kidney transplants from living donors, and 24 from brain-dead donors this year, said an official. “This year we have exceeded the targeted number of kidney transplants for the first time before the end of the year. We also carried out seven liver transplants and three lung transplants by the end of October this year,” said Dr Yousef al-Maslamani, medical director of Hamad General Hospital and director of Qatar Centre for Organ Transplantation.
“The organ transplantation programme at HMC continues to thrive with 54 kidney transplant surgeries performed for patients of various age groups since the beginning of 2023 until October. Initially aiming for 50 kidney transplant surgeries this year, the programme has surpassed the set target before the year's end due to an increase in the number of living and brain-dead organ donors,” Dr al-Maslamani explained.
HMC’s kidney transplantation team recently performed a successful kidney transplant surgery involving a Qatari young man donating a kidney for his father. After undergoing extensive tests to ensure tissue compatibility and kidney suitability for the patient, the donated kidney was successfully transplanted to the father.
The donor, Abdullah al-Ali, had made the decision to donate his kidney to his father, who had previously suffered from kidney failure and underwent an unsuccessful kidney transplant operation outside Qatar several years ago.
Al-Ali said: “We were determined to carry out the kidney transplant for my father at HMC due to its renowned success in organ transplantation surgeries and its international reputation in this field. Despite receiving approval for treatment abroad, the significant successes achieved by HMC prompted us to undergo kidney transplantation at Hamad General Hospital. Our trust in HMC was reaffirmed after my father underwent an unsuccessful kidney transplant outside of Qatar, leading him to undergo kidney dialysis for over two years until we successfully performed the kidney transplant at HMC on October 15th.”
Dr al-Maslamani attributed the success of this surgery to the collaborative efforts of the medical staff from various specialties, in addition to the advancements in medical technology witnessed in the country, enabling the utilisation of the latest surgical techniques.
Dr al-Maslamani highlighted that the continuous development and expansion of HMC’s kidney transplant programme and attributed it to the integration of modern technologies and the proficiency of the medical staff overseeing the programme. He explained that the number of kidney transplant surgeries performed at HMC depends on the availability of donors and the fulfilment of all organ donation criteria for both the donor and the recipient.
He stated that patients undergo standard tests before surgery to ensure that all donation criteria are met and to protect the donor's health. “In 2022, a total of 41 kidneys were transplanted with a success rate of 100%, which included 25 kidney transplants from living donors and 16 kidney transplants from brain-dead donors, averaging one operation per week,” added Dr al-Maslamani.
Dr Yousef al-Maslamani
