(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Fazeena Saleem I The Peninsula
DOHA: Lung transplant surgery is to become a reality in Qatar soon with the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) making preparations to start the programme.
With having some patients in need of the transplant due to serious lung disorders, discussions are underway to start the programme, said Dr Yousuf Al Maslamani, Medical Director of HGH and Director of the Qatar Center for Organ Transplantation at HMC.
'We are in consultation to start the programme. We have the facilities and surgeons who are specialised in pulmonology but surgeons need to refresh their knowledge and skills. We have to look into the logistics such as the number of patients in need of lung transplant, he said speaking to media persons recently.
Currently the transplant unit at HMC is conducting kidney and liver transplant operations. Around 84 patients have been assessed in need of kidney transplants and awaiting to receive suitable organs while other 18 patients are on the waiting list of liver transplants.
This year, HMC has carried out 16 kidney and four liver transplant operations. It aims to conduct 20 kidney transplants within this year. Life-saving organs come from deceased donors as well as living donors.
At least 15 percent of the country's population has registered with Organ Donation Registry as potential donors. Around 90 percent of respondents to a recently-held survey by HMC have expressed their desire to be organ donors.
'The culture of organ donation is improving. We started organ transplant programme in 2001 and now it is 2018. Most People know about organ donation and transplantation. They know what religion says about transplantation. They know it is a very good thing to donate organs. But there is one step left, that is converting their belief and idea into action. This has not happened yet and it will require more time, said Dr Al Maslamani.
Qatar's organ donation and transplantation programme has continued maintaining a high standard in terms of the quality of care provided to both donors and recipients. The programme has been well recognised for its focus on fairness and equality, and specifically the humane and unbiased nature of the service and its single unified national waiting list.
'People travelling abroad for organ transplant has dropped significantly. We advice people not to travel abroad for transplant. Because going somewhere else to take organs is unethical, it is illegal in all countries, it is not healthy because we do not know what illnesses the donor may have, said Dr Al Maslamani.
Dr Al Maslamani was recently elected the Vice-President of the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation (MESOT) for a two-year term (until 2020).
'We work with everybody who work to improve organ transplantation and to improve the donor rate. We learn from each other, said Dr Al Maslamani.
MENAFN2409201800630000ID1097480439
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.