HMC to commence lung transplantation programme soon
IN a significant achievement for Qatar, Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Organ Transplant Programme will soon start lung transplants.
The new milestone was announced at a special ceremony attended by Minister for Public Health HE Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari and other officials.
A lung transplant is a major procedure to replace a person’s diseased lungs with those from a donor. It is offered to people with lung failure when all other treatment options have failed. Currently, Qatar’s organ transplant programme offers kidney and liver transplantation programmes, and transplant surgeries making HMC one of the most comprehensive transplant centers in the region.
Dr Kuwari said the new lung transplant programme is a milestone for Qatar and will ensure patients in Qatar have access to this specialised level of care.
“Qatar’s organ donation and transplantation programmes have fairness and equity at their heart and is something which we can be extremely proud of,” Dr Kuwari said. “Qatar’s national strategy for organ donation and transplantation is not only world-leading in terms of the clinical and ethical standards it applies, but it is also one that is appropriate to the healthcare needs of our growing and di
verse population.
“Being able to offer lung transplants in Qatar is a true milestone for our highly specialised teams and means that our patients no longer have to travel overseas for these procedures
and follow-up care.”
The programme will provide individualised treatment for patients in need of a transplant with a multidisciplinary team of transplant pulmonologists and surgeons, along with nurses, social workers, dietitians, rehabilitation staff and other specialists to provide comprehensive care and support. This includes Professor Takahiro Oto, an internationally respected expert in lung transplantation who recently joined HMC as Lung Transplant Team Lead.
Dr Abdulla Al Ansari, HMC chief medical officer, said it was a great achievement for the organisation and the teams involved to move into the next phase in the development of transplant services in Qatar.
“As an organization, we have continued growing to meet the increasing and changing needs of our community and have been striving to fulfil its vision to provide the best quality care for all patients irrespective of nationality, religion or race,” Dr Ansari said. He added, “In November 2019, we set up a Heart and Lung Transplant Taskforce team who were charged with not only creating the environment in which the programme would be a success, but also marshalling the planning, resources and technology needed to make this happen. Now, just one year later, we are ready to launch lung transplants at Hamad General Hospital – a momentous achievement for HMC and for Qatar.”
Dr Yousuf Al Maslamani, medical director of Hamad General Hospital and director of Qatar Center for Organ Transplantation, said the launch of the programme was the culmination of many years of hard work by the transplant teams.
“Since the start of our transplant programme in 1986, we have worked tirelessly and strengthened the exceptional care we provide to our patients,” said Dr Maslamani. “We have in place a multidisciplinary team with some leading international experts that will enable us to deliver the highest levels of care to our patients who need these procedures.”
He added, “At HMC, we also have the technology, facilities and access to the expertise to perform these surgeries and importantly have overwhelming community support for the organ donation programme which is one of the keys to its success.”