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Qatar has seen a 30% rise in kidney transplants in 2021 compared to the previous year, among adult patients as result of robust organ donation and transplantation programmes developed at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).
In 2021, kidney transplant team at HMC successfully performed 39 transplant surgeries compared to 30 in 2020, said Dr. Mohamad Alkadi, a nephrology and kidney transplant consultant at HMC. While in 2019, around 20 kidney transplant surgeries, involving living and deceased donors had been performed at HMC.
“We have seen progress in kidney transplant over the years. Not only the number of surgeries has increased but all have seen great outcome. We have 100% survival rate among kidney transplant patients within the first year,” he told The Peninsula, yesterday.
In Qatar, kidney transplantation from living donors is only performed among related family members. According to Dr. Alkadi, due to more awareness “we see many coming forward to donate for their family members.”
“Fifty percent of kidneys transplanted at HMC are from deceased donors and all others are conducted among family members,” said Dr. Alkadi.
A transplant can be a life-saving procedure and can significantly improve the quality of life for someone with advanced kidney disease. “Kidney transplantation is considered the best treatment for people with end stage kidney disease because quality of life and life expectancy are often better than in people who are treated with dialysis,” said Dr. Alkadi.
In 2019, kidney transplant team at HMC successfully performed the first ABO incompatible kidney transplantation in Qatar that allowed a patient to receive a kidney from a donor with a different blood type.
“The start of kidney transplant between a donor and a recipient whose blood types do not match has given the opportunity for more transplants from living donors,” said Dr. Alkadi.
According to Dr. Alkadi, transplants involving patient and donor with incompatible blood types involve a lot of preparation and evaluation before and after kidney transplantation.
Also around 900 kidney recipients are seen at kidney transplant clinics at HMC. “We do pre and post-transplant surgery consultations at HMC. A recipient will be seen at least once a month and upon need in the first year of the surgery and then every two months throughout their life. While, the donors are also seen regularly,” said Dr. Alkadi
The first kidney transplant surgery in Qatar was performed in 1986 and the Doha Organ Donation Accord has become the cornerstone for the development of organ transplantation services in Qatar.
