Life Saving Liver Transplant Offers Patient a New Perspective on Life

Katie needed a liver transplant to save her life. Thanks to the expertise of the entire transplant team at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, from the surgeons through to logistics coordinators, a donor was found quickly.

Katie is a young teacher, living in Abu Dhabi. In late 2020, she started to feel unwell and over the coming months, her health deteriorated significantly. She was referred to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi where she was diagnosed with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), an autoimmune liver disease characterized by inflammation of the liver and scarring of the bile ducts.

After failing to report to work one day, worried friends rushed to her apartment and called an ambulance. At hospital, doctors discovered her liver had begun to fail and her life was in danger.

Doctors advised Katie that a liver transplant was the only thing that could save her. She was admitted to ICU and 4 days later, she received a liver transplant from a donor in Kuwait.

Receiving a donor organ from another country represents many complications in terms of logistics and medically preparing the patient for surgery. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Transplant Center is one of only a handful in the region to offer such services.

Katie underwent the long and complex transplant operation. It was a success, and she had a smooth recovery.

She is thankful for the new perspective on life that the transplant has given her and she is grateful for the second chance that her donor and their family have given her.