‘People need to be educated before they donate organs’

“At first, my mother refused to take the donation from me, because she was afraid, but she accepted it after the doctors reassured her that nothing bad is going to happen to me and they were ready for anything unexpected.”

“As soon as my mother woke up from the operation, I walked to her room with the help of the doctors to check on her and to reassure her about my health, which had a positive effect on how she felt later.”

He added, “Thanks to God, the liver has the ability to grow again and return to its normal size in a period of time not exceeding six to eight weeks, and studies have shown that 20 per cent of the liver is able to perform all the vital functions of the body.”

“You might not believe me, but I honestly didn’t feel any pain during the whole process.”

“At her last medical review on Sunday, we made sure that the patient Fatima was in a very good and stable condition and her liver functions perfectly,” said Dr. Nadia Al Harthy, consultant of Liver and Digestive Diseases.

According to Dr. Al Harthy, people wishing to donate their livers must be between the ages of 18 and 50 years and have good health.

Al Harthy added: “Before any organ donation, the donors must first educate themselves and ask about it.

At the Royal Hospital, we receive those who wish to donate and answer their questions. We also arrange a meeting with previous donors so that they will be more assured.”

Dr. Ahmed Al Kindi, senior consultant of Liver Surgery at the National Liver Transplant Programme, and Dr. Sulaiman Al Maamari, consultant, Liver Surgery, both ensure before performing the operation that the donor undergoes several medical tests, the most important of which is to verify the matching of the blood type of the donor and the recipient, determine the size of the donor liver and make sure it’s in a good condition, as well as conducting comprehensive tests on the donor to clarify that he doesn’t have any chronic or infectious diseases.