By Isabel Ovalle
Qatar, like the rest of the world, suffers from a shortage of organs for transplantation. Hamad General Hospital, which has been performing transplants since 1986, is working to increase the number of donors, which is now around 450 in the local registry. To achieve this goal, experts have to deal with cultural factors and convince potential donors about the importance of donating.
Dr Yousef Al Maslamani, Director of Qatar Center for Organ Transplantation, stresses that there is a shortage of organs worldwide, with the number of transplants being performed hardly changing and the number of patients going up. “Every country is trying to come up with solutions to the problem; keeping in mind that in the West organ transplantation has been done for about 30 years,” said the expert.
Qatar has its own objectives in this regard, determined by local circumstances. “In the West, they walked many steps to reach where they are, but here we are pressured by the health system to do the same, but in five years. They want to go fast and not wait 30 years to give the best to the people of Qatar,” added the specialist.
Dr Al Maslamani explained that Qatar had to address the issue in accordance with the local culture. To this end, the Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism was implemented here through the Doha Donation Accord, taking into account Islamic medical ethics.
Transplants are permissible in Islam, because they are a form of treatment for a medical condition. In general, organ donation is also allowed in Islam. “It is an invaluable gift to those in pain and suffering from organ failure. Such a donation will not only help the patient but will also save his/her life,” reads a paper on Islamic rulings on Organ Transplant and Organ Donation, which can be found on the website of the organ donation campaign, odc.hamad.qa.
“We want to be fair to the poor and to the rich, to the donor and the recipient, and to doctors as well,” said Dr Al Maslamani. “The declaration allows us to pay for the ticket, accommodation, transport and phone bill of the donor,” he explained.
In addition, HMC is working with Qatar Charity to help the children of deceased donors. “We already signed a contract so, for example, if someone dies in an accident and the family donates the organs, Qatar Charity will support the children until they are older. We support the families of donors because this will help our programme succeed,” he said.
Orphaned children of donors are given priority in such support.
Transplants of kidney, liver, cornea, cartilage and heart valves are performed in Qatar. The Qatar Centre for Organ Transplantation is trying to introduce living relative liver transplant, which is not being done at present because it is more complicated and involves greater risks for the donor.
The total number of transplants done in Qatar in 2012 was 13 -- 12 in adults and one in a child. Infants usually have to go through transplantation because they have renal complications from birth. This year, the hospital expects to perform four transplants soon.
The international success rate of transplants is about 90 percent in the case of dead donors and 95 percent when the donors are alive – figures that Qatar exceeds. Still, many Qataris choose to go abroad for transplants while expats undergo the procedure here, one reason being that it is free of charge.
HMC has six doctors who perform kidney transplants and four who do liver transplants. The transplant team includes many other professionals, such as the team coordinator who deals with patients before the transplants, the donor coordinator, nurses, lab technicians and physicians, among others.
Dr Al Maslamani admitted that the main challenge was increasing the number of donors. “In some countries they have started taking organs from donors whose heart has stopped beating, but to do that we would need special equipment, while in cadaveric donors this is done in a very controlled environment.”
Nevertheless, the expert believes this kind of procedure cannot be performed in Qatar because of the culture. “Even if we give them a big talk, in the end they would say no because they’re not used to it.”
The days following a transplant are the most delicate for the patient. “In the beginning, the risk of complications is higher. In a few months they can almost return to normal, but they have to take medication throughout their lives because their body will continue attacking the donated organ,” explained the doctor.
The expert said potential donors should put themselves in the shoes of the patient and realise that the organ they can donate comes from the community and goes back to the community.
