Patient receives life-saving transplant after Gulf-wide search for liver donor

Doctors in Abu Dhabi faced race against time after Indonesian woman developed acute liver failure

Nurpati Mangindre Tasim with her sister after the surgery at Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Burjeel Medical City

A UAE resident has been saved by doctors in Abu Dhabi who faced a race against time to find an organ donor in the Gulf region.

Indonesian citizen Nurpati Mangindre Tasim, 43, was only hours from death after developing liver failure in June. With no donors available in the UAE, a Gulf-wide alert was issued and a compatible liver was found in Kuwait.

Doctors at Burjeel Medical City had 48 hours to receive the liver and perform the operation.

"I feel lucky because in my own country I would not have been able to have this opportunity," Ms Tasim said.

Senior figures in the hospital said there was not a moment to spare in the life-saving mission. “She was brought in with acute liver injury due to seronegative hepatitis, which soon developed into acute fulminant liver failure," said Dr Rehan Saif, director for transplant surgery at Burjeel's abdominal multi-organ transplant programme.

"Managing such a condition is extremely challenging due to the rapid progression and severe complications without a transplant. The patient met the criteria for a super-urgent liver transplant requiring immediate intervention."

The hospital issued an alert to the UAE Organ Transplant Committee for an urgent liver transplant. With no donors available in the country, the committee extended the search across the Gulf.

Patients suffering from acute liver failure are at serious risk of severe jaundice, bleeding, infection, organ failure and encephalopathy – which can affect a person's memory and personality.

Ms Tasim was beginning to show signs of jaundice, Dr Saif said.

"The acute liver failure had also started affecting her brain," he added. "This condition has a very high mortality risk exceeding 80 per cent if a liver transplant is not performed within 48 hours once the criteria are met.

"So, it was crucial to find a compatible donor and perform the transplant as soon as possible."

Race against time

A suitable organ was found in Kuwait and the transplant committee organised a private charter aircraft to transport it to Abu Dhabi.

“We had to ensure that the timing was precise to minimise the ischemic time – the period the liver is out of the body," said Dr Johns Shaji Mathew, abdominal Transplant and HPB surgeon, who prepared Ms Tasim for the transplant.

The whole process took about 14 hours, including the time to transport the liver and perform the operation.

Annual reminder

World Organ Donation Day is marked annually on August 13. In 2016, the UAE introduced the Organ Transplant Law and, in 2022, it introduced the National Programme for Organ Donation and Transplantation – or Hayat, after the Arabic word for life – to support the donation of organs and transplants.

In September last year, the UAE passed Federal Decree Law No 25 of 2023, which allowed altruistic kidney donations in the country for the first time. Altruistic donations are when someone donates their organs to people they do not know.

Road to recovery

Ms Tasim has been discharged from hospital and is undertaking follow-up consultations. Doctors have said she is recovering well.

“She had a successful outcome and can look forward to leading a completely normal and healthy life, thanks to the graciousness of the donor’s family who donated the organ and saved her life in time,” Dr Saif said.

Ms Tasim works for an Emirati family, who played a crucial role in getting her the help she needed. “She is like family to us and we are grateful to Burjeel Medical City, the medical professionals and authorities involved in her care," Reem Albaloushi said.

"She started to complain at first about having abdominal pain, then we took her to the hospital where they did some blood tests. They found she was having liver failure and needed an urgent transplant."

Ms Tasim's sister, Laelatul Fitri, flew to Abu Dhabi after learning that her sibling's health had deteriorated.

“What happened to her was a complete shock to us," she said. "However, the support and care she received from the collaborative efforts of the doctors and agencies have been incredible. She is a fighter and we are happy to see her recovery."