Patient Stories 14 Nov 2023 Back to Stories

Complex multiorgan transplant saves the life of young woman.

Double lung and liver transplant is performed for the first time in the UAE to save a young woman with end-stage cystic fibrosis.

When Nada’s cystic fibrosis worsened, a combined double lung and liver transplant was her only hope. Thankfully, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi – one of the only hospitals in the world able to perform such a complex operation – was able to find a donor and perform the operation for the first time in the UAE.

Nada, a 23-year-old woman from Egypt, was suffering from end stage cystic fibrosis – a disease that had already claimed the lives of her three siblings.

She was so unwell that there were no further treatment options available to her. Depending on oxygen to breathe, her only chance of survival was receiving a lung transplant. After much research, Nada and her family travelled to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

While Nada waited for a donor lung to become available, she underwent a number of tests which revealed her liver had become significantly diseased, and she would also need a liver transplant.

Thankfully, a donor was found in the UAE and Nada underwent the multiorgan transplant the next day – the first time a combined double lung and liver had been performed in the UAE.

Despite the complexity of the surgery, which took 14 hours to complete, it was a complete success. Nada recovered after several weeks and is now living a normal and happy life.

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