Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Shines Spotlight on Organ Transplant Program

Abu Dhabi Hospital Holds Inaugural ‘Afkar’ Event as part of Quarterly Program to Discussing the Future of Healthcare

​Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi held the first in a new series of quarterly events focused on the innovations and ideas that are shaping the future of healthcare in the Middle East.

Set against the backdrop of the UAE’s regulatory changes surrounding organ transplants, the first edition of ‘Afkar,’ which means ideas in Arabic, presented the hospital’s work, as one of the country’s designated transplant centers, in planning and implementing a suite of transplant services.

Dr. Bashir Sankari, Chief of the Surgical Subspecialties Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, who performed more than1,000 kidney transplants before joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, outlined the challenges the hospital faced when establishing an organ transplant program and how the hospital overcame them. Drawing on his extensive transplant experience at Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Sankari underscored the importance of staff training and knowledge transfer when establishing a program from scratch.

“Transplant is totally different from other forms of surgery. The workflows and logistics alone, before you even make it into the operating room, are a challenge” said Dr. Sankari. “Performing a successful transplant is a team effort across the entire hospital and the training required is a step above anything else.”

In addition to the medical challenges, speakers highlighted the challenge of establishing national organ transplant and donor lists and celebrated the progress the Ministry of Health and Prevention has made in the UAE. 

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is one of only four designated organ transplant hospitals in the UAE and the only designated multiple organ transplant hospital. Its transplant program is made up of expert surgeons, nurses and allied health professionals with extensive transplant experience in the United States.