Organ Donation Status in Qatar

​In the recent past, Qatar has been putting in efforts to promote this noble act through campaigns across the country, to become self-sufficient in Organ Donation. Earlier this year, Hamad Medical Corporation launched a month-long organ donation awareness campaign to try to increase the number of people opting to donate the organs of loved ones. Information booths were set up around Doha - at City Centre Mall, Lagoona Mall, Landmark Mall, and the HMC Blood Donation Center to try to address concerns and questions. As a matter of fact, Her Highness Sheikha Moza led the way by registering herself as an organ donor in August.

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​Although the situation of organ donation awareness has improved significantly with more than 1000 additional signatures as of August, there is still a shortage of donors, as 134 patients in Qatar continue to wait for a transplant.  You see, to target a small number of recipients with successful donations, you need a very large number of registered donors.



Currently, in Qatar the kidney transplant program is going well, due to the launch of living-related transplant programs, while Qatar is just in the first phase of the liver transplant program. So far, there have been 3 transplants, first one being in December of 2011. All 3 patients were discharged in a week's time, which, benchmarked against international standards, is a big accomplishment. No post-surgical period complications or problems were encountered, and the three patients are doing very well and now live normal, healthy lives.



The Head of the HMC Transplant Unit, Dr Riyadh Abdul Sattar Fadhil, says that demand for organs (particularly kidneys) in Qatar is high because of the country’s diabetes epidemic. Hamad Medical Corporation plans to open a state-of-the-art Organ Donor Centre by the end of this year, as part of its efforts to promote organ donation.