Dr Yousuf Al Maslamani, Medical Director of Hamad General Hospital (HGH) and Director of Qatar Centre for Organ Transplantation at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), was elected Vice President of the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation (MESOT) for a two-year term (until 2020). His election to the post was announced during the society’s board meeting during the 16th Congress for MESOT in Ankara, Turkey earlier this month.
Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, congratulated Dr Al Maslamani on the appointment. She emphasised the importance of Qatar’s organ donation and transplantation programme, adding that the success of Qatar’s organ donation programme is something which is recognised internationally and which the country can be extremely proud of.
Qatar’s organ donation and transplantation programme has continued to develop at a steady pace to meet the country’s ever-increasing demand while also maintaining a high standard in terms of the quality of care provided to donors and recipients. The programme is world-leading and has been recognised internationally for its focus on fairness and equality, and specifically the humane and unbiased nature of the service and its single unified national waiting list. I am confident that Dr Al Maslamani’s appointment and his work with this eminent group of organ transplantation experts will be instrumental in the continued evolution of organ donation and transplantation in this region.’
Dr Al Maslamani said he was honoured to have been elected to the post. Founded over 30 years ago, MESOT is among the most important organ transplantation organisations in the region. MESOT’s membership includes a number of highly-respected internists and international surgeons recognised as leading experts in the field of organ transplantation. Over the years, MESOT has gained extensive expertise in the field of organ transplantation and this had led to significant improvements and helped to contribute to the development of more comprehensive healthcare systems across the Middle East.
According to Dr Al Maslamani, surgical teams at Qatar Centre for Organ Transplantation this year have successfully performed seven liver and 19 kidney transplant surgeries. In recent years, 47 patients have received 12 livers and 35 kidneys from ethically approved living and deceased donors. He said that hopefully, there will be more organ transplantation surgeries performed at HMC.
In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of registered organ donors in Qatar. Since the Qatar Organ Donor Registry was launched in 2012, around 300,000 donors, or 15% of the country’s adult population, have registered as organ donors.’
For updates and more information about organ donation in Qatar, visit hamad.qa.
