Dr Yousef Al Maslamani, Consultant and Head of the Organ Transplantation Department at HMC (fourth left), Dr Abdulla Al Ansari, Consultant Surgeon and Chairman of Surgery at HMC (fifth left) and Dr Hatem Khalaf, Liver and Pancreas Transplant Senior Consultant Surgeon with team members who performed the fourth liver transplant in Qatar.
DOHA: A Sri Lankan expatriate organ donor has helped save the life of a patient suffering from liver failure for several years.
And a team at Hamad General Hospital’s Organ Donation Center has successfully performed the fourth liver transplant in Qatar.
The liver was donated by a 33-year-old and the recipient was a 49-year-old Egyptian who had been suffering from liver failure due to Hepatitis C.
He had been on the waiting for a donor for two years.
The surgery lasted six hours and was performed without complications, and the liver recipient spent two days in the ICU before being discharged 10 days after surgery, according to a senior official.
The team was led by Dr Hatem Khalaf, Liver and Pancreas Transplant Senior Consultant Surgeon and Chairman of the Arab Liver Transplantation Society.
Dr Khalaf said that the liver recipient had been suffering from Hepatitis C since 1995 and that a transplant was recommended to prevent deterioration of his health.
The patient had been on the transplant waiting list since May 2011.
Dr Abdulla Al Ansari, Consultant Surgeon and Chairman of Surgery at HMC, said HMC’s transplantation programme is continuing to grow and improve and preparations were being made to launch a liver transplant programme for living donors.
“Since its establishment, HMC’s liver transplant programme has been witnessing great improvement.
“The launch of the Qatar Organ Donation Center, Hibah, and the support shown by H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser with her registering as an organ donor, led to a significant increase in the number of registered donors,” Dr Al Ansari said.
Dr Yousef Al Maslamani, Consultant and Head of the Organ Transplantation Department at HMC, said organ transplants were being performed under the Doha Donation Accord.
“If the donor is deceased we would provide social support for the family and cover the cost of repatriation, among other things. We want to honour our donors, as they have given this precious gift to someone who desperately needed it,” he said.
Dr Khalaf highlighted the role of Dr Muna Al Maslamani, Senior Consultant, Infectious Diseases, in the observation of the transplant recipient before and after the operation and praised the role of Rossini Jovero, Senior Liver Transplant Coordinator, for her efforts to co-ordinate with the donor’s family to seek approvals required to complete the transplant.
Dr Khalaf said there were 12 patients on the liver transplant waiting list, most suffering from liver cancer. HMC has been performing liver transplants since 2011.
The liver transplant recipient, who has been living in Qatar for 20 years, thanked Qatar, HMC, and the donor’s family.
“I thank the donor’s family so much for granting me with their consent to receive the liver and save my life and put an end to my suffering. I also wish to thank Qatar, HMC, and all my doctors, surgeons and nurses for their support and expert care. I pray to God to cure all other patients still waiting for donations.” The Peninsula
