Medcare Hospitals & Medical Centres has launched an Organ Transplant Centre at Medcare Hospital Sharjah after completing its first successful living-donor kidney transplant.
The first transplant was performed on an international patient who travelled to the UAE for the procedure, according to Medcare. The hospital said the launch marks the start of a wider transplant programme aimed at treating patients from the UAE and overseas.
Kidney transplant
The transplant involved a multidisciplinary team covering transplant surgery, nephrology, hepatology, urology, anaesthesia, intensive care, radiology, pathology, infectious diseases, immunology and rehabilitation.
Alisha Moopen, Managing Director and Group CEO of Aster DM Healthcare, said: “The launch of Medcare’s Transplant Centre is an important step in our ambition to make highly advanced clinical care more accessible to patients in the UAE, across the region and internationally.
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Sharjah Health Authority (SHA) and the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) for their continued support in establishing this programme in the Emirate of Sharjah.
Our vision extends beyond kidney transplantation. We are building the expertise and clinical ecosystem required to expand organ transplant services in the near future.”
Transplant team
The procedure was led by transplant surgeons Dr Gourab Sen and Dr Johns Shaji Mathew, with the transplant nephrology team led by Dr Ishthiaque Ahamed and the transplant anaesthesiology team led by Dr George Jacob Malayil.
The team has more than two decades of international experience across India, the UK and the UAE and has collectively performed more than 1,000 abdominal transplants, including liver, kidney and pancreas procedures, Medcare said.
The donor and recipient underwent compatibility and safety assessments in line with UAE guidance from the Ministry of Health and Prevention.
The donor procedure was performed using a robotic surgical system through a minimally invasive approach. Both the donor and recipient have been discharged and are continuing post-transplant follow-up.
Wider programme
Dr Shanila Laiju, Group Chief Executive Officer of Medcare Hospitals & Medical Centres, said: “Completing Medcare’s first successful kidney transplant and launching our Transplant Centre mark a defining moment in the evolution of our clinical services. This achievement demonstrates our ability to manage some of the most complex medical and surgical conditions within an integrated hospital environment. The fact that our first transplant patient travelled from overseas demonstrates the confidence that patients are placing in the UAE’s healthcare system and its ability to deliver highly complex care.”
The centre is designed to support transplant patients from assessment and surgery through immunosuppression management and long-term monitoring.
Medcare said it plans to expand its transplant services beyond kidney transplantation as it develops its wider clinical capabilities in tertiary and quaternary care.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
