Kuwait’s first liver transplant

Kuwait’s first liver transplant

Conducted for a patient with cirrhosis of the liver

In an unprecedented medical achievement, a joint Kuwaiti-British medical team performed the first liver transplant at Kuwait’s Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital.

Commenting on this feat, Kuwait’s Minister of Health Dr. Basel Al Sabah said “the transplant was offered to a Kuwaiti patient suffering from acute cirrhosis of the liver, with a complete deterioration of its function; this meant that the only remedy to save the patient’s life was for the patient to undergo a liver transplant from a brain deceased patient after receiving consent from his next of kin.

The Kuwaiti Minister added that the joint Kuwaiti – British medical team that carried out the procedure in Kuwait were operating under a joint agreement between the Kuwait Ministry of Health and the Liver Transplant Division of Kings College Hospital on of Great Britain’s largest liver transplant centers that conduct over 250 similar operations per year.

The Kuwaiti Minister stressed that “this agreement is cornerstone for the establishment of a permanent program for liver transplants in Kuwait through training and promotion of capabilities of national Kuwaiti experts in the field, ultimately leading to a self sufficient practice in the long run.”

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Al Mousawi: Kidney purchase from abroad is a crime punishable under Kuwaiti Laws

Al Mousawi: Kidney purchase from abroad is a crime punishable under Kuwaiti Laws

The Chairman of the Kuwait Transplant society (KTS), Dr. Mustapha Al Mousawi, stressed Kuwait’s commitment to combat human organ trade and the nation’s involvement in the global movement to address this crime and to seek practical solutions that take into account the needs of patients.

Representing Kuwait at the Papal Science Academy Conference on (Human Organ Trafficking) that concluded its activities last Wednesday whilst under the auspices of Pope Francis, Al Mousawi said of his participation, speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), that is was part of the International Movement that was launched in 2005 to combat human organ trafficking.

He added “Kuwait has played an active role from the beginning by hosting a founding meeting in 2006 to crystallize this movement. Preparations for the Istanbul Conference were held in 2008. A representative of the Kuwait Society participated in organizing and coordinating its work, which resulted in the Istanbul Declaration and the recommendations of the World Health Organization in 2010, representing the international movement in this field.”

He stressed the important impact of the global movement, especially after the Istanbul Declaration, aiming curb this trade, which is based on exploiting the needs of the poor to acquire their organs or even steal them for sale to wealthy patients.

Clarifying he explained “Although it will be difficult to halt this trade as long as there is a huge shortage of available organs, as they represent a profitable trade for some doctors and non-professional hospitals and intermediaries run by organized crime in countries known for trafficking in human organs such as Pakistan, Egypt and China; the fact is that all countries of the world criminalize these immoral and inhuman practices.”

Al Mousawi emphasized that “most of the smuggling of trafficked organs takes place in hospitals that are not qualified, as their goal is limited to profit,” warning of the large and serious complications associated with such medical operations.

The Chairman of the Kuwait Transplant Society (KST), Dr. Mustapha Al Mousawi, pointed out that most of patients are unaware of the risks, especially those suffering from renal failure, and have warned them to travel to buy kidneys from abroad. This has serious and grave health consequences. The practice is criminal and is punishable by Kuwaiti Law and in the countries where it is conducted.

He pointed out that the best and most realistic solution to this growing phenomenon is to provide the organs to those in need in an orderly and transparent, so that patients do not have to resort to this option.

He added “The only way to provide organs to patients is through legal organ harvest after death of the contributor. Unfortunately, it is well known that the Middle East lags behind in Europe and North America in this field.”

He explained that the 1987 organ transplantation law of Kuwait criminalizes trafficking in organs, whether by buying or selling, and that the Kuwaiti Society for Organ Transplantation has adopted the Istanbul Declaration since its issuance in 2008. It addressed the Ministry of Health and the media to raise awareness in this regard.

Dr. Mustafa Al Mousawi praised the positions of Pope Francis, whom he met with a group of participating surgical professors, and was pleased with the interest the Pope expressed regards the issue of organ transplantation, which he regards as one of the modern forms of slavery. The Pope appealed to all religious, political and social leaders in the world to confront this practice in this spirit.

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الموسوي:شراء الكلى من الخارج جريمة يعاقب عليها القانون الكويتي

الموسوي:شراء الكلى من الخارج جريمة يعاقب عليها القانون الكويتي

أكد رئيس الجمعية الكويتية لزراعة الأعضاء الدكتور مصطفى الموسوي أمس الأول، اهتمام الكويت بمكافحة تجارة الأعضاء البشرية ومشاركتها في الحراك العالمي للتصدي لهذه الجريمة، والبحث عن حلول عملية تراعي حاجة المرضى.

وقال الموسوي لوكالة الأنباء الكويتية بمناسبة تمثيله الكويت في مؤتمر (الأكاديمية البابوية للعلوم) حول (تجارة الأعضاء البشرية)، الذي اختتم اعماله الأربعاء، ان المؤتمر الذي عقد برعاية بابا الفاتيكان فرانشيسكو، يندرج ضمن التحرك العالمي الذي انطلق في 2005 لمكافحة تجارة الأعضاء.

وأضاف ان «الكويت اضطلعت بدور نشط منذ البداية باستضافتها اجتماعا تأسيسيا في 2006 لبلورة هذا الحراك تولى الاعداد لمؤتمر اسطنبول في 2008، كما شارك ممثلا عن الجمعية الكويتية في تنظيم وتنسيق أعماله، التي أسفرت عن اعلان اسطنبول ثم توصيات منظمة الصحة العالمية في 2010 التي تمثل قاعدة هذا الحراك الدولي».

وشدد على الأثر المهم للتحرك العالمي، خاصة بعد اعلان اسطنبول في الحد من هذه التجارة التي تقوم على استغلال حاجة الفقراء للحصول على أعضائهم بل وسرقتها لبيعها للمرضى من الأثرياء.

وأوضح أنه «ومع تجريم كل دول العالم لهذه الممارسات غير الاخلاقية والانسانية فسيكون من الصعب ايقافها ما دام هناك نقص كبير في الاعضاء المتاحة ولكونها تمثل تجارة مربحة لبعض الأطباء والمستشفيات غير المهنية والوسطاء إذ تديرها (مافيا) في دول اشتهرت بتجارة الاعضاء مثل باكستان ومصر والصين».

واكد الموسوي في هذا الصدد «ان معظم عمليات نقل الأعضاء المهربة تجرى في مستشفيات غير مؤهلة اذ يقتصر هدفها على الربح محذرا من المضاعفات الكبيرة والخطيرة لهذه العمليات».

كما لفت رئيس الجمعية الكويتية لزراعة الأعضاء إلى أن «أغلب المرضى لا يدركون المخاطر»، متوجها إليهم بنداء قوي، خاصة مرضى الفشل الكلوي، الذين حذرهم من السفر لشراء الكلى من الخارج، لما لذلك من عواقب صحية وخيمة وخطيرة، بجانب أن هذه الممارسة مجرمة ويعاقب عليها القانون في الكويت وفي الدول التي تجرى فيها.

وبين ان الحل الواقعي الأمثل لهذه الظاهرة المتعاظمة، يتمثل في توفير الأعضاء لمحتاجيها بشكل منظم وشفاف، حتى لا يضطر المرضى للجوء الى هذا الخيار السيئ.

وقال ان «الطريقة الوحيدة لتوفير الاعضاء للمرضى تكون عن طريق الوفيات، ومن المعروف ان دول الشرق الأوسط متأخرة في هذا المجال مقارنة بأوروبا وشمال أميركا».

وأوضح أن القانون الكويتي لزراعة الاعضاء لعام 1987 يجرم الاتجار بالأعضاء ، سواء بالشراء أو البيع، كما أن الجمعية الكويتية لزراعة الاعضاء تبنت (اعلان اسطنبول) منذ اصداره في 2008، حيث خاطبت وزارة الصحة ووسائل الاعلام لنشر الوعي في هذا الخصوص.

وأشاد الدكتور مصطفى الموسوي بمواقف البابا فرانشيسكو الذي التقاه مع نخبة من أساتذة الجراحة المشاركين، واهتمامه الخاص بقضية الاتجار بزراعة الأعضاء التي يعتبرها احد أشكال العبودية الحديثة، مناشدا جميع القيادات الدينية والسياسية والاجتماعية في العالم التصدي لها من هذا المنطلق.

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Egypt’s Ministry of Health

Egypt’s Ministry of Health will soon launch awareness campaigns for organ donation with Al Azhar & the Coptic Church’s participation

Director of the Central Administration for Non-Governmental Treatment Institutions & Licenses at Egypt’s Ministry of Health & Population Dr. Ali Mahrous announced that the ministry will begin launching a number of awareness campaigns related to organ transplants with the participation of a number of clerics from Al Azhar and the Coptic Church. The purpose of these campaigns will be to highlight the importance of organ donation in helping others and saving patients from death.

Mahrous stressed that the organ transplant committee meet on the last Sunday of every month to discuss the latest developments regards the activation of the Organ Transplant from Clinically Dead Patients Law.

He pointed out that organ donation is not compulsory, but only happens after citizens concede at the time of death of their family members in favor of patients in need, and is documented through a waiver at the registrar of ownership to verify that there are no suspicions surrounding the sale of organs after death.

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His Highness Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

His Highness Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah When he was prime minister during his visit to the Assembly in a suite of exhibitions and was  greeted by members of the KTS Abdul Majid Al Hindi and Husain Mousa and Nargis Zainal

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Father Davis give a plaque Kuwait transplant Society

Father Davis give a plaque Kuwait transplant Society for their constant work to educate the general public about the value of organ donation , and generating donors to save thousands of lives

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We give from the heart campaign

KTS hosted a campaign in the period of 2 weeks that included a number of Kuwaitis’ social influencers to educate the public about the need for organ donors  and increase the number of organ donors card holders  ..

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Middle East Championship for the fourth organ recipients

Kuwaiti team co-starring in the Middle East, which was held in Abu Dhabi in 2012

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4000organ donor cards issued in 2014

It is worth mentioning that the society first campaign was launched during January 2014 using social media under the slogan “give from the heart” and was organized in collaboration with the Indian community in December 2014. The society also participated in several health fairs, in addition to organizing seminars in a number of colleges.

 

These efforts have been met with an overwhelming response, extending the community’s awareness of the importance of organ donation and the size of the contribution made by donors to other human beings representing a chance for a new life for someone who needs to these organs.  Thus 4000 organ donation cards were issued during 2014, bringing the number of registered members after death to 9000 donors.

 

KSOT in association with leaders of the Ministry of Health provide advanced health services at global standards for kidney patients, is currently pushing for the introduction of the heart and lung transplants in addition to the liver, to provide treatment to patients in need of transplants.

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Kuwait Transplant Society concludes awareness campaign

The Kuwait Transplant Society (KTS) concluded their awareness campaign ‘Gift of Life’ with a talk on organ donation at the KTS headquarters yesterday. It was presented by Catholic Priest Father Davis Sharma, who is visiting Kuwait. The campaign included activities in schools and churches. The lecture was mostly attended by nurses and doctors from various hospitals in Kuwait.

Donors’ numbers 2014 was a good year for KTS. “Last year we had the largest number of donors. We also established a mobile team of doctors. We depend on Intensive Care Unit (ICU) doctors to refer patients to us. We should have one dedicated doctor in every ICU, but there is a shortage of doctors in Kuwait, so to solve this problem, we came up with an idea. Instead of having a doctor in each hospital, we have a team that visits ICUs daily. We have to diagnose and stabilize the patients, as maintaining brain-dead patients is not an easy job as they are very critical and unstable, and we can lose them. This year we lost many cases as the care was not enough for them,” said Dr Mustafa Al-Musawi, Chairman of KTS.

According to him, doctors provide to living patients, but these are dead people. “So we organized the mobile team whose only job is to look after these patients and sustain them. It needs effort to talk to their families to convince them, and some have to go and discuss the issue with the rest of the family members. So we need to keep them on machines for several days to allow the family to think it over. We don’t force them to make a quick decision.

We tell them to think about it and then take a decision. Many refuse and then agree, and vice versa. They can change their mind at the last minute just before the surgery. We had such a case at Mubarak Hospital when a team of surgeons came from Saudi Arabia, but the family changed its mind at the last minute, so we told the team to go back. The decision should come from the bottom of their hearts,” Musawi said.

121 referrals KTS had 121 referrals last year. “We are covering 7 major hospitals including Adan, Amiri, Jahra, Farwaniya, Mubarak, Sabah and Ibn Sina. A majority of our referrals are mostly old people, so their organs are old and they may have diabetes or hypertension. Also, not all referrals are brain dead – in fact only 60 percent were diagnosed as brain dead, 17 percent were not and 18 percent were unstable. Sometimes the family doesn’t accept a brain death diagnosis. Also, some refuse due to religious reasons,” Musawi explained.

Last year, 110 people benefitted from 24 donors. “These included 42 kidneys and 18 livers that were transplanted in Saudi Arabia, 4 lungs and 9 hearts, also transplanted in Saudi Arabia, 2 pancreases and 35 corneas. We hope that we can soon take corneas from normal deaths, and we hope we will soon be able to perform liver, lung and heart transplants in Kuwait,” stressed Musawi.

The donated organs are transplanted serially, no matter the nationality. “The organs don’t only go to Kuwaitis – all patients who live in Kuwait are entitled to receive organs and we follow the waiting list. Those who carry organ donor cards or their family members who hold it have an advantage in the list,” he concluded.

Saving lives Fr Sharma has himself donated a kidney. He is visiting various countries with the same mission – to convince people to donate their organs and save the lives of others. “There are people waiting for organ transplants. When we give something, only then we get satisfaction. The person who gives is the one who gets satisfaction. I’m satisfied as I gave my kidney and I saved the life of somebody. We have to share, and it’s our responsibility as human beings to share our organs after use. There is no charity if a person donates his organs after death. The charity is if he shares his organs while alive. This is a noble action. Those who receive the organs receive life,” he said.

“You as nurses have more responsibility, as you have the opportunity to speak to patients and their relatives. The noble thing as a nurse is to save a life of a dying person. I’m living happiness as somebody else is living with my kidney and I don’t need any other happiness. Even after my death, my family will proudly say that I donated my organs. When you share your body, that’s the greatest sharing in all religions,” stated Sharma.

A large number of patients in Kuwait are in need for organs. “These patients ask God to make people donate their organs. After death, we won’t take anything with us, but we can take happiness in the heart. If you speak about organ donation every day for 10 minutes, when at work or when traveling, it will help,” he pointed out.

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