ABU DHABI: Physicians at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi have successfully transferred a kidney from 22-year old Shayma Alhebsi to her 27-year old sister, Fatema, who had been suffering from kidney failure for the past two years. The Emirati national student has said she didn’t think twice about donating a kidney to her seriously ill sister.

“Fatema was having to go for kidney dialysis every other day and I used to go with her,” says Shayma. “It used to take hours and hours and it would take a lot out of her. She became very tired. We reached the point where we could not do it any longer.”

Fatema discovered she had kidney failure at the age of 25. After a series of tests around the world, she was told that her kidney function was just five per cent and she urgently needed a transplant.

“We all had our blood tested and it turned out that I was the only one in the family who had the same blood group,” says Shayma. “I immediately said I would be happy to give my sister a kidney. We only live once. If I did not step in and help my sister, then who would do it?”

Initially the family had planned to fly to South Korea for the operation but when they heard about Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s kidney transplant expertise via social media, the sisters opted to have the operation closer to home. The sisters read about Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s first kidney transplant on the hospital’s Facebook page, and were eager to learn more.

Shayma says she took the initiative and called the hospital herself. An appointment was quickly arranged and the operation took place soon after.

Dr Bashir Sankari, Chief of the Surgical Subspecialities Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, who was lead surgeon for the operation, says: “Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has the expertise and facilities to serve as one of the UAE’s leading organ transplant centres and we are pleased to see patients choosing to stay within the UAE or GCC, rather than taking a long flight for overseas treatment at what is a very difficult time for them physically.”

A veteran of Cleveland Clinic for more than 25 years, Dr Sankari has performed more than 1,000 kidney transplants during his career.

“Everything went really smoothly before and during the operation,” says Shayma. “Fatema was worried that the procedure could harm my health but in fact I feel fine.

“And the best thing is seeing such an improvement in my sister’s health. Before the operation, she was suffering a lot with the dialysis and always feeling tired and sick. Now she is eating healthy, she has gained weight and she is much more energetic. We feel like the sickness has left her.”

“Since the operation my health has improved massively,” says Fatema. “I feel so much better. I can do so many things that I could never do while I was sick. I am so grateful to my sister who has given me this precious gift.”

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi made history in 2017 when the hospital carried out a multi-organ transplant that included the UAE’s first full heart transplant and two kidney transplants from a deceased donor.

The hospital has been developing extensive transplant facilities to support a full range of transplant operations. Transplant patients benefit from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s unique group practice model, which brings together a broad spectrum of specialists from a variety of disciplines to deliver the best possible patient outcomes.

More than 2,000 patients in the UAE currently undergo regular dialysis treatment for kidney diseases.

“Helping someone else, especially your own family like this, is a very rewarding experience,” says Shayma. “The suffering of patients like my sister is huge. The dialysis takes over their whole lives. By helping someone in this way it makes you feel good that you have saved someone else and I hope that people in similar situations can take courage from our story.”