Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Transforms Life of Kuwaiti Mother with Complex Double Organ Transplant

• Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi affirms its role as a global destination for complex care, supported by national initiatives to advance transplant care in the UAE and direct referrals from international providers. • Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi's partnerships with national transplant committees enables the hospital to lead complex multi-organ transplants with efficiency and precision. • The hospital’s multidisciplinary transplant team leverages its world-class coordination and expertise in managing high-risk, multi-organ procedures with 54 combined organ transplants performed since 2017.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi successfully performed a complex combined liver and kidney transplant on Nashami, a Kuwaiti mother of three, diagnosed with advanced liver disease and kidney failure. Given the need for a double organ transplant, her doctors in Kuwait and the UK strongly recommended Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi for its expertise in advanced transplant care.

In June 2024, Kuwaiti national Nashami was enjoying a family holiday when she began noticing unusual symptoms such as extreme fatigue, swollen feet, and alarmingly, the yellowing of her eyes. Initially attributing these symptoms to exhaustion from traveling, Nashami soon realized that this was something more serious when her systems continued to persist.

Upon consulting doctors in Kuwait, an ultrasound revealed her diagnosis: severe hepatic cirrhosis and kidney failure caused by primary biliary cirrhosis, an autoimmune disease that damages the bile ducts and liver and can impair kidney function. In need of an urgent combined liver and kidney transplant, her doctors recommended she go to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s multi-organ transplant center in the UAE.

“From the moment I arrived at the hospital, I was welcomed by the warmth and professionalism of the caregivers, as well as the world-class facility,” said Nashami. “We were met by a dedicated coordinator who guided us to the International Patient Services department, where everything about my journey was explained clearly. From registration to pre-surgical assessments, I felt completely supported every step of the way.”

Dr. Luis Campos, Staff Physician, Abdominal Transplant, Digestive Disease Institute, who led her treatment at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, explained, "Nashami’s case was particularly complex. Not only did she have advanced liver damage from an autoimmune disease, but her kidney function was also severely compromised. These are precisely the kinds of complex cases our multidisciplinary transplant program is built to handle. Our ability to provide such comprehensive care stems from having integrated teams and advanced surgical protocols that ensure streamlined, coordinated treatment."

Nashami’s case exemplifies the success of the UAE-Kuwait organ sharing agreement, a cross-border collaboration established in 2021 between both countries’ Ministries of Health and national transplant centers. This partnership enabled her to be placed on a shared waiting list, ensuring access to suitable donor organs from either nation in a timely manner. Since its inception, the program has saved the lives of more than 180 patients in the UAE, with seamless coordination between embassies, airports, and hospitals.

With seamless coordination between medical teams in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, Nashami was swiftly placed on the transplant waiting list. Shortly thereafter, she received the life-changing call: a donor match had been found.

On the day of the surgery, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s transplant experts first conducted the liver transplant, followed by the kidney transplant. Dr. Baraa Abduljawad, Staff Physician, Critical Care, Integrated Hospital Care Institute, added, "Timing is everything in transplantation. At Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, we’ve designed our operating environment and facilities to drastically reduce the time between donor organ retrieval and transplantation. This short window helps preserve organ function and significantly improves patient outcomes."

The transplant surgeries, performed consecutively with precision and minimal blood loss, were successful. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s multidisciplinary team, along with its dedicated International Patient Services team, ensured Nashami’s remarkable recovery, reflecting the hospital’s commitment to providing holistic, personalized care for the best patient outcomes.

Today, Nashami leads a healthy, fulfilling life back in Kuwait, continuing her follow-ups with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Expressing her gratitude, Nashami shares, “I now proudly call Abu Dhabi my second home.”

Life-changing journeys like Nashami’s are only possible thanks to the generosity of organ donors, whose selfless gifts offer patients a second chance at life. Through the efforts of Hayat, the National Program for Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues, a humanitarian initiative that promotes organ and tissue donation, and the ongoing support of the Department of Health (DoH) Abu Dhabi, every donation is transformed into a lifeline for those in critical need. Nashami’s journey stands as a powerful testament to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s role as a leading global referral center. Since launching the UAE’s first multi-organ transplant program in 2017, the hospital has performed over 900 transplants across a range of organs, including liver, kidney, heart, and lung. In 2024 alone, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi provided care to patients from over 100 countries, many of whom required highly complex, life-saving surgeries.

For more information about Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Transplant Center, visit https://www.clevelandclinicabudhabi.ae/en/institutes-and-specialties/transplant-center

To schedule an appointment, call 800 8 CCAD (2223), visit www.clevelandclinicabudhabi.ae, or download the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Patient Portal App.