Qatar’s organ transplant programme has reached a new milestone, with the first successful lung transplant to a patient with a severe respiratory condition.
The recipient, a 40 years old Qatari lady, received the lung from a deceased donor and recovered well from an eight hours operation conducted in June, said senior health experts yesterday.
Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) highly skilled multi-specialty surgical team was led by Professor Takahiro Oto, an internationally renowned expert in lung transplantation.
Minister of Public Health H E Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari in a statement to QNA, said the first lung transplant performed in Qatar was significant milestone for the country and demonstrated that patients here have access to outstanding levels of specialised care.
“Being able to perform one of the most complicated and challenging surgical procedures like a lung transplant here in Qatar demonstrates the high standards of expertise and state-of-the-art technology our patients receive.
The Minister said that Qatar’s organ donation and transplantation programmes have fairness and equity at their heart and are being lauded and emulated by other countries.
“Qatar is a pioneer in the field of organ donation and transplantation both regionally and internationally and many countries seek to emulate our programs,” Dr. Al Kuwari said. “Through initiatives such as the Doha International Academy for Organ Donation, an innovative hub for collaborative research, education and training in the field of organ donation, we are also supporting other countries in the development of their own programs.”
A lung transplant is a surgical procedure in which a patient’s damaged lungs are replaced with lungs from a donor. These surgeries are performed on people with lung failure when all other treatment options prove ineffective.
The Medical Director of Hamad General Hospital and Director of Qatar Center for Organ Transplantation Dr. Yousef Al Maslamani, speaking at a press conference said that the success of the first lung transplant is a new chapter of the organ transplant programme. The lung transplant programme at Hamad Medical Corporation began in November 2019 and Professor Takahiro Oto who has the experience of conducting over 200 lung transplants for children and adults, joined HMC in 2020 to spearhead the lung transplant programme.
“Lung transplant is a life changing procedure. A patient oxygen dependent patient will be able to return to normal life after a lung transplant. “This patient had a respiratory complication and a lung transplant was needed due to her condition. The lung transplant was done in June and the patient was discharged after 8 weeks and now she is back to her family and leading a normal life,” he said. Director of Qatar Organ Donation Center (Hiba) and head of the committee supervising lung transplant programme at HMC, Dr. Riyadh Fadhil, reviewed the efforts made to establish a lung transplant programme.
“We have been working on this for many years, we needed to build infrastructure with certain technologies and policies, facilities and train staff before starting the lung transplant porgramme. We also needed to see there are enough people in need of people of lung transplant,” he said. “Despite COVID-19 challenges, November 2020 we announced the launch of the lung transplant and within few months a patient was in need of a lung transplant and a matching donor was found. And the transplant was conducted in June,” he added.
According to him, 20 people with different respiratory problems are being assessed at HMC, if they are in need of a lung transplant.
Qatar’s organ transplant program offers kidney, liver and now lung transplant surgeries making HMC one of the most comprehensive transplant centers in the region.
