KFSHRC Saves Saudi Child With Donated Heart From UAE In Cross-Border Transplant

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) in Riyadh has successfully carried out a heart transplant on a seven-year-old Saudi child using an organ donated by a brain-dead donor in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The complex operation was made possible through cooperation between the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation and the UAE’s National Program for Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissue (HAYAT), with full family consent and regulatory clearance.

According to KFSHRC in a statement, the procedure involved precise medical and logistical coordination, including organ retrieval, air transport to Riyadh and preparation of operating theatres within a limited timeframe.

The child, who suffered from advanced heart failure caused by a congenital defect, had exhausted all available treatment options before being placed on the urgent transplant list.

KFSHRC’s successful operation was conducted within the five-hour medical standard between organ removal and transplantation, a critical factor that poses logistical challenges, especially in cross-border cases.

The hospital’s Heart Centre is recognised among the world’s leading cardiac facilities, having achieved milestones such as the first fully robotic heart transplant and robotic artificial heart pump implantation without chest incision.

KFSHRC has also been ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa and 15th globally among the world’s top 250 academic medical centres for two consecutive years.

It was further named the most valuable healthcare brand in the Kingdom and the Middle East and included in the World’s Best Hospitals and World’s Best Smart Hospitals list for 2025 by Newsweek magazine.

-- BERNAMA