Medical Professionals Exemplars Of Tolerance: Nahyan Bin Mubarak

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Jan, 2019) Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, has praised medical professionals, characterising them as exemplars of tolerance during an event recently held by Cleveland Clinic. The celebratory event was held to mark the health care provider's milestone of conducting 35 transplant surgeries by the end of 2018 as part of its celebrations for the UAE’s Year of Tolerance.

The event also highlighted the community acceptance and support for organ donation as a reflection of the UAE’s spirit of tolerance. Hundreds of people – from all backgrounds and walks of life – have expressed interest in donating their organs after death to give others the gift of life.

Along with patients and senior community representatives, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak took part in the ceremony and congratulated transplant patients on their health and recovery, and the hospital for their significant achievement.

The Minister of Tolerance said, "It is a celebration marked by paradox. While we celebrate the continuation of life made possible by the generosity of donors, we also mourn the loss of those donors who have passed from this life."

"I must save praise for the phenomenal transplant teams fielded by the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. One can only marvel at their ability to exercise their extraordinary skills under the intense pressure inherent in transplant operations," Sheikh Nahyan continued, adding that praising the work of medical professionals is particularly "appropriate" in the Year of Tolerance, as they are "exemplars of tolerance".

"We are all their patients, irrespective of our nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, philosophical or political beliefs, economic status, age, or culture," he noted.

Since conducting its first kidney transplant and the UAE’s first multi-organ deceased donor transplant in 2017, the hospital has rapidly expanded its multi-organ transplant capacities. The hospital has now conducted heart, lung and double-lung, deceased liver and living liver, deceased kidney and living kidney transplants, as part of its efforts to provide life-saving surgery for patients in Abu Dhabi and the wider region.

By the end of 2018, the hospital had conducted three heart, three lung, 10 liver and 19 kidney transplants, a significant achievement for a hospital that opened its doors in 2015. It has continued to perform transplant operations in 2019.

Six transplant operations were performed in six days in October 2018, setting a new milestone for the transplant facility. The hospital conducted a heart and liver transplant from a deceased donor, whose remaining organs were shared with other hospitals to save other lives.

In that same week, teams at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi completed three living related liver transplants and a living related kidney transplant. Living related transplants occur when a family member donates an organ or part of an organ for transplantation to the patient.

"It is delightful to see how far the nation has come in the deliverance of renowned healthcare treatments and procedures and ensuring all the communities needs are readily available," said Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of the Department of Health. "We are working to raise awareness on organ donation and how vital it is to save lives and improve the quality of healthcare provided."

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi worked closely with several entities, regulators and hospitals to establish its complex multi-organ transplant programme. The integration across all organisations was key to ensuring smooth exchange of knowledge, operation opportunities and support, which facilitated the development of a strong foundation for the national transplant programme.

Following the UAE government decree in 2017 allowing deceased donor transplants, organ transplant programs continue to grow across the country with the number of living related transplants increasing as well as the number of deceased donors.

Dr. Ali Abdulkarim Al Obeidli, Chair of the UAE’s National Organ Transplant Committee, said, "The UAE has made significant progress in terms of supporting a growing number of transplant operations that have changed the lives of people across the UAE. We are establishing a system that will support the public to exercise their right to donate and save lives. We are also putting in place the appropriate framework to support transplant patients before, during and after surgery. We thank all stakeholders for working together for this great and noble cause."

These achievements bring the UAE closer to achieving a world-class healthcare system that adheres to international quality standards of medical offerings and keeps the provision of healthcare close to home, reducing the need to travel abroad for medical services.

For Sultan Al Muhairi, who experienced advanced heart failure and was the recipient of a deceased donor heart in October, his transplant operation was literally life-saving.

"I’d like to pay gratitude to the generous leaders of the nation, who persevered to establish a trusting network of healthcare providers like Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and made it possible for me to continue experiencing life," said Al Muhairi.