Abu Dhabi: Now, sign up as organ donor by scanning QR code at hospital

A hospital in Abu Dhabi has installed the first ‘Hayat’ booth where people can scan a QR code to sign up and register as an organ donor.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD), a Mubadala Health partner, has been working with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH–Abu Dhabi) to promote an ongoing community campaign that supports the National Programme for Organ Donation and Transplantation (Hayat).

Launched by DoH in November last year, the Abu Dhabi Community Campaign seeks to encourage community members to register for organ and tissue donation as well as enhance the quality of life of patients with organ failure. CCAD’s ‘Hayat’ booth will help patients and visitors learn about the programme and register as organ donors.

Dr Ali Al Obaidli, chairman of UAE National Transplant Committee, said the programme has seen growth in donations from post-mortem donors, which has led to impressive results in transplants of the heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and kidneys.

“It is through partnerships with leading healthcare institutions, such as Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, that we are able to further drive this initiative and succeed in our endeavour of creating awareness around the importance of organ and tissue donations and the life-changing opportunities they afford to patients requiring transplants," Dr Al Obaidli said.

"We encourage anyone over 21 years of age to register and become part of this noble and humanitarian act as donors provide recipients another chance at life, when alive or even after death.”

Dr Jorge Guzman, CEO of the CCAD, inaugurated the booth and became the first to sign up and register as an organ and tissue donor.

“The importance of organ donation cannot be emphasised enough and all of us have a role to play in this life-changing opportunity. We are proud to partner with the DoH and drive the larger UAE vision of promoting the initiative of organ donation,” Dr Guzman said.

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“Only through collective partnerships between the healthcare entities are we able to achieve the aim of saving the life of every patient who needs a transplant and reaffirm the UAE’s position as a leading destination for healthcare,” he noted.

Aligned with the Cleveland Clinic Transplant Centre in the US — which is one of the most comprehensive transplant programmes in the world — CCAD has performed more than 330 life-changing organ transplant surgeries, since the deceased donor programme became active in the UAE in 2017.

The programme has seen 124 deceased donors in the UAE, whose organs have saved the lives of more than 438 patients. Through its transplant centre, CCAD has conducted 166 kidney, 136 liver, 12 lung, 12 heart, and 10 pancreas transplants.

Dr Bashir Sankari, chair of the Surgical Subspecialties Institute and Head of the Transplant Programme at CCAD, said: “We have a multi-organ transplant programme in the UAE undertaking heart, single and double lung, liver, and pancreatic transplants. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has achieved numerous milestones since the launch of its transplant program in 2017, including performing the UAE’s first successful heart, lung and liver transplant, the UAE’s first combined kidney-pancreas and combined kidney-liver transplants. Even after death, one person has the power to alter the course of eight different lives and we need to share this message with more people.”

Community members may visit the hospital to register as a donor at the booth.

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