Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi saves Kuwaiti mother's life with double organ transplant

Zawya

2 days ago

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has successfully carried out a combined liver and kidney transplant on Nashami, a Kuwaiti mother of three, who was diagnosed with advanced liver disease and kidney failure caused by primary biliary cirrhosis.
Referred by doctors in Kuwait and the UK for the hospital's expertise in advanced transplant care, Nashami was placed on a shared UAE-Kuwait waiting list under the organ sharing agreement established between both countries in 2021. The programme has saved over 180 lives through coordinated efforts between medical teams, embassies, airports and hospitals.
The surgery, performed by Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi's multidisciplinary transplant team, began with a liver transplant followed by a kidney transplant, with minimal blood loss and reduced time between donor organ retrieval and transplantation to preserve organ function.
Dr. Luis Campos, Staff Physician, Abdominal Transplant, said the complexity of the case demonstrated the strength of the hospital's integrated teams and surgical protocols. Dr. Baraa Abduljawad, Staff Physician, Critical Care, noted that optimising the timing of transplantation significantly improves outcomes.
Since launching the UAE's first multi-organ transplant programme in 2017, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has completed over 900 transplants, including liver, kidney, heart and lung procedures. In 2024 alone, it treated patients from more than 100 countries, many requiring highly complex, life-saving surgeries.
Through the National Programme for Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Hayat), and with the support of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, the hospital continues to transform donations into second chances for critically ill patients.