In line with the Health Authority – Abu Dhabi strategy and under the supervision of Abu  Dhabi  Health  Services  Company  (SEHA),  the  Sheikh  Khalifa  Medical  City managed    by    Cleveland    Clinic    recently    initiated   the   development    of   a comprehensive  multi-organ  transplant  program.  The  first  two  kidney  transplants were    performed    by    Dr.    Abrar   Khan,    the    newly    appointed    Director    of Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery.  Dr. Khan, a multiorgan transplantation surgeon-scientist, arrived from the United States in late October 2007.

  

The  transplants  were  performed  on  February  3rd   and  5th,  H.E.  Dr.  Ahmed Mubarak  Al  Mazrouei,  Chairman  of  the  Health  Authority  of  Abu  Dhabi  and Chairman Abu Dhabi Health Services Company - SEHA, visited these patients to observe this historic moment personally on February 7th   when the first patient was discharged from hospital, along with Mr. Saif Bader Al Qubaisi, Managing Director of SEHA; Dr. Ali Al Obaidli, Clinical Affairs Director at SEHA; Dr. Kenneth Ouriel, CEO of SKMC; Dr. Scott Strong, Chief Medical Officer at SKMC and Dr. Abrar Khan.

 

  

H.E. Dr. Al Mazroui praised the efforts of the multi-disciplinary team of the Organ Transplantation Service. His Excellency stated that “the surgeon, Dr. Abrar Khan,and  the  transplantation  team  are  considered  as  the  first  permanent  team  fully dedicated to organ transplantation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Hiring them at SKMC  shows  the  will  of  SKMC  and  SEHA  to  continue  offering  this  service  in  the long-term  which  will  also  include  Liver,  Pancreas,  heart,  lung,  and  small  bowel transplantation  –  thus  providing  state  of  the  art  transplantation  care.  SKMC  will take  the  lead  in  Transplantation  Care  in  the  UAE,  offering  current,  up-to-date treatment   protocols   under   the   competent   guidance   and   management   of Cleveland Clinic”.

  

Mr. Saif Bader Al Qubaisi stated that “the launch of a Multi – Organ transplant program is a significant advance in organ transplantation for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the UAE and the region. SEHA and SKMC are sincerely committed to the continuous  improvement  of  healthcare  in  Abu  Dhabi  and  the  UAE,  and  the multiorgan   transplantation   program   is   a   significant   step   forward.     The   new program  will  enable  us  to  treat  patients  in  the  UAE  rather  than  sending  them abroad for treatment.  This will result not only in limiting the suffering of the patients outside the country, but also in increased convenience and comfort for them and their respective families.”

  

On  the  hospital  side,  the  transplant  program  has  benefited  from  personal attention  to  its  development  by  Dr.  Kenneth  Ouriel.  He  stated  that  “We  are developing   a   world   class   multi-organ   transplantation   program.  One   clear indication of that is that both donor operations were done laparoscopically.  Our medical  team  will  be  providing  complete  care  for  transplant  patients  including

preoperative  workup  for  recipients  and  donors,  hospital  admissions,  operative care,  post  operative  care,  and  immunosuppressive  drugs  that  are  necessary  to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ.  We do not want to keep patients on renal dialysis if we don’t have to; a transplant is always easier for the patient and quite  safer  in  the  long  run.  This  was  also  the  judgment  of  our  first  two  kidney recipients. ”

  

Dr  Scott  Strong  has  also  provided  immensely  valuable  support  to  the multiorgan transplant program.   He affirmed that “…the goal of the Multi-organ Transplant  Program  is  to  reduce  the  medical  requirement  for  overseas  travel, provide  world  class  transplantation  services  to  all  UAE  Residents,  and  provide family members an opportunity to participate in the wellness process before and after  surgery.  Health  statistics  show  that  the  family  is  a  vital  part  of  the  healing process  and  SKMC  and  SEHA  are  happy  to  provide  this  service  within  the community.”

  

In the photo: H.E. Dr. Ahmed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Mr. Said Bader Al Qubaisi, Dr. Kenneth Ouriel, Dr. Scott Strong, Dr. Abrar Khan and Dr. Ali Al Obaidli during the visit to the first patient and kidney donor.

About the Head of the Multi-organ Transplantation Program Team

 

SKMC  management  met  with  numerous  world  renowned  transplantationconsultants  and  Dr.  Abrar  Khan,  a  surgeon-scientist  from  the  United  States,  was selected to join SKMC and develop the program from the ground up.   Dr. Abrar Khan,  MD,  MS,  MPhil,  FACS,  received  all  his  childhood  education,  graduate education, surgical training, and transplant training in the United States.   He has attended,   during   his   education   and   training,   various   academic   institutions, including University of California, Berkeley, McGill University, University of California- San Francisco School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Yale University, and Columbia University.   Of note, he did his multiorgan transplantation fellowship at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine under the watchful eyes of Dr. Thomas Starzl.   Dr. Starzl is a pioneer in transplantation and is credited with doing the first successful liver transplant in humans. In addition to clinical work, Dr. Abrar Khan has contributed significantly to the advancement of the field with his research on basic  mechanisms  of  tolerance  induction  in  transplantation  –  work  which  he completed  at  Harvard  Medical  School  and  which  was  funded  by  the  National Institutes of Health (NIH).  He subsequently joined the PhD program in Immunology at Yale University.

  

Dr. Abrar Khan successfully started a multiorgan transplant program in the United  States,  and  thus  was  considered  eminently  qualified  to  help  Cleveland Clinic  –  SKMC  start  the  multiorgan  transplant  program  here  in  the  UAE.              He  has already    assembled    the   beginnings    of    a   multidisciplinary    transplant   team consisting  of  a  dedicated  transplant  coordinator  and  a  dedicated  transplant pharmacist.   He  will  soon  be  joined  by  many  others,  including  more  transplant coordinators,  social  workers,  transplant  database  managers,  and  of  course,  a second  transplant  surgeon.    In  speaking  with  Dr.  Abrar  Khan,  he  avowed  that “starting  with  two  Kidney  Transplants  this  week  indicates  that  we  have  the infrastructure  to  perform  at  least  two  transplants  a  week.   This  capacity  will  be expanded  in  the  very  near  future.  I  am  very  excited  with  our  progress  and  am confident that, with the support of HAAD, SEHA and the senior administration at SKMC, we will be able to create a multiorgan transplant program that will equal any other in the United States or Europe.”