Abu Dhabi hospital performs its first live liver transplant

Surgeons at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi performed the hospital’s first liver transplant with an organ from a living relative.

Emirati Noura Saif, 23, who was suffering from liver failure, received a portion of liver from her elder brother. Both patients recovered and were discharged with ongoing aftercare and support.

“A living related liver transplant is a complex procedure because our multidisciplinary teams need to perform two operations at the same time, safely removing part of the donor’s liver and transplanting it into the recipient,” said Dr Antonio Pinna of the Digestive Disease Institute, who led the surgical team.

Livers perform vital metabolic and immune functions. In a traditional transplant operation, the entire organ is taken from a deceased donor, but in a living liver transplant involving a living relative, just a piece of the organ is removed.

Because livers can regenerate, a transplanted section can ideally regrow into a functional organ for the recipient.

“I’m so grateful to everyone at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and for the support of my family,” Ms Saif said. “The opportunity to have the transplant operation here made it possible for me to continue my studies before and after the treatment.”

Ms Saif is in her first year of university.

Before the transplant, she was top of the waiting list for a deceased donor, but because time was critical and tests had shown that her older brother was a match, they opted to go for a live transplant.

“One of the promises we made to the community when we launched Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi was that we would open the UAE’s first multi-organ transplant centre,” said Dr Rakesh Suri, the hospital’s chief executive.

“Following on from our first kidney transplant in April 2017, we have now performed living and deceased donor kidney and liver transplants, as well as lung and heart transplants.

“The availability of a living donor programme creates significantly more options for patients throughout the Emirates who need a transplant operation.”

The surgical team was able to draw on the expertise of US-based partner Cleveland Clinic, which completed its first living related donor kidney transplant in April last year, its first full heart transplant in December, its first deceased donor liver and lung transplants in February and its first double lung transplant in June.

According to the World Health Organisation, 20,200 liver transplants – 14.6 per cent from living donors – are carried out worldwide every year.