UAE organ donors saved 303 lives since 2017

Organs have also been transported to other neighbouring countries as part of exchange programmes.

File photo

The UAE’s National Programme for Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues has so far helped save the lives of 303 patients who were in need of various organ transplants in the country and around the region.

Under the programme, which launched in 2017, registered donors can provide vital organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and pancreas to help others after death. Ever since its launch, 80 donors have donated organs under the programme, including 39 in 2021, and 11 people since the beginning of 2022.

Over the last 3 years, donated organs included 12 hearts, 138 kidneys, 6 lungs, 58 livers and 7 pancreas. The organs have also been transported to other neighbouring countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Pakistan as part of organ exchange programmes.

Speaking at a conference titled, ‘Applying Best Practices & the Hospital Rating System for Organ Donation’ in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Dr. Ali Al Obaidli, Chairman of the National Committee for Organ Donation and Transplantation, stressed the importance of organ donation and encouraged people to register in the life-saving programme through the Ministry of Health and Prevention app ‘Hayat’ (which means life in Arabic).

“Organ donation is a humanitarian act that saves lives. I urge members of the UAE community, citizens and residents, to register through the Hayat app to donate organs and tissues after death in support of the National Programme for Donation.”

According to information posted on Cleveland Clinics website, people of all ages should consider themselves potential donors. “When a person dies, they are evaluated for donor suitability based on their medical history and age,” it stated.

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“Organ transplantation is one of the great advances in modern medicine. Unfortunately, the need for organ donors is much greater than the number of people who actually donate. Every day in the United States, 21 people die waiting for an organ and more than 107,380 men, women and children await life-saving organ transplants,” it added.

Abu Dhabi hosted the conference between March 14th-15th at the Ritz Carlton which was organised by the National Programme for Donation in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, and the Dubai Health Authority, attracting a large number of experts and specialists from the UAE, the GCC, Europe and the US who exchanged experiences and shared best practices in the field.