Ground-breaking Kidney Transplant in Dubai

Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Mediclinic City Hospital Make History!

Kidney
First organ transplant surgery in Dubai

This week, the Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA) announced  that the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) successfully carried out the first organ transplant surgery in Dubai, in collaboration with Mediclinic City Hospital.

The surgery was performed on 8 June, on a 29-year-old Emirati woman who had kidney failure due to diabetes. The mother of two needed to undergo four hours of haemodialysis, three times a week over the last year.

The kidney from a deceased donor was provided through the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) in Saudi Arabia, the reference centre for organ transplant in the GCC, led by Dr Faissal Shaheen.

The kidney was transported from Riyadh to Dubai by a medical evacuation plane, and the transplant was conducted in Mediclinic City Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City. Several government authorities played a vital role in ensuring the swift and safe transportation of the kidney to the hospital, including Dubai Airports, Dubai Ambulance, Dubai Customs and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.

The surgery marked the launch of the MBRU Organ Transplant Program, which aims to establish, through partnership with healthcare providers, services for organ transplantation in Dubai to meet the growing demand in the country.

Her Excellency Dr Raja Easa Al Gurg, Vice Chairperson and Group Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA), said: “We at DHCA aim to create the necessary infrastructure to address challenges in the healthcare sector, such as the demand for organ transplantation, to ensure that Dubai residents are healthy and happy individuals. We are proud that MBRU, our first medical university, has launched an organ transplant programme and has successfully conducted the first kidney transplant in Dubai in collaboration with Mediclinic City Hospital.

“This initiative stems from an effective and balanced strategy for MBRU that aims at achieving regional leadership and global recognition in the fields of education, scientific research, medical services and community engagement. We are very thankful to SCOT for being instrumental in driving this initiative in Dubai and grateful to all the entities which contributed to the success of this first surgery.”

A landmark achievement of medical history in the Gulf, we wish the medical fraternity of Arabia all the best with all their future endeavours.