RIYADH: The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre’s pediatric cardiac surgery team performed consecutive heart transplants on two children within 24 hours in Riyadh.
Before the surgeries, the transplant recipients — two girls, an under 8-month-old Emarati infant and a 19-month-old Saudi baby — were in critical condition due to heart failure, necessitating the installation of temporary artificial pumps. The girls were also placed in intensive care units while awaiting transplants.
The transplants required highly qualified professionals, advanced medical infrastructure, and international logistical support and cooperation. For the first surgery, KFSHRC’s surgical team traveled to Dubai to perform heart removal surgery on a deceased donor.
The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation, the Saudi Ministry of Defense’s aeromedical evacuation team, and the UAE’s National Centre for Regulating Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissue played instrumental roles in facilitating the travel and logistics between Dubai and Riyadh. As a result of the successful transfer and surgery, the 8-month-old transplant recipient has become the youngest child in the Middle East to undergo a heart transplant.
As for the second surgery, KFSHRC’s surgery team, in cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Defense’s aeromedical evacuation team, traveled to Makkah to remove the heart of a deceased donor, which was then transported and transplanted in the 19-month-old patient.
After the procedures, both girls’ condition has been steadily improving, and they are monitored via regular medical check-ups by KFSHRC’s multidisciplinary and highly specialized team.
The Organ Transplant Centre for children and adults at KFSHRC is the largest in the Middle East. The center’s achievements are on par with the global benchmarks, and since its establishment in 1988, the center has successfully performed over 431 heart transplants.
KFSHRC has a rich history of providing high-quality clinical services, including leading-edge treatments in oncology, transplantation, cardiovascular diseases, neurosciences and genetics. Their mission is to provide the highest level of specialized healthcare in an integrated educational and research setting.
A globally recognized healthcare provider, KFSHRC ranked first in pediatric (patients under 18 years old) liver and kidney transplants compared with centers in the UK and the US while maintaining graft survival rates comparable to US organ transplant centers. In 2022, KFSHRC was ranked among the top healthcare providers across the globe by Newsweek.
