HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, former deputy prime minister and minister of energy and industry, recently visited the Qatar Organ Donation Centre (Hiba) at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) to attend a special event organized by Hiba to celebrate his return from undergoing medical treatment abroad.
Dr. Riadh Fadhil, director of Hiba, welcomed HEal-Attiyah and expressed gratitude for the great trust he had placed in the team.
The Centre was able to successfully provide lungs for him from a deceased donor in Doha and transfer them to London in record time for a lung transplant operation. The transport is believed to be one of the longest involving an organ for transplantation, HMC said in a statement.
While Qatar has a successful and world recognized organ donation programme, it currently does not undertake lung transplants.
“The Centre had the honor to provide its services to one of the leaders who has dedicated his life for Qatar and continue laying the foundation pillars of sustainability and progress in Qatar,” Dr. Fadhil said. “We pray to God to grant him long life and good health to continue in his role in the development of Qatar.”
HEal-Attiyah expressed his sincere thanks and gratitude to HE Dr. Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, for the careful follow-up at all stages of treatment abroad and in Qatar. He also thanked the clinicians, nurses, paramedics and support staff who work at HMC who contribute and continue to provide the best health services for all citizens and residents alike.
He stressed the importance of organ donation in saving lives of many patients with organ failure and added that donating organs is a noble humanitarian work that will be rewarded in heaven as the best deed rather than burying organs under the ground.
At the ceremony, Dr. Fadhil presented HEal-Attiyah with a memento to thank him for his support and wished him full health and long life.
The event coincided with the launch of HMC’s annual Ramadan Organ Donation campaign in the country.