KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent yesterday a congratulatory cable to Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel Humoud Al-Sabah, expressing pride in the first successful liver transplant carried out by an all-Kuwaiti medical team. In the cable, HH the Amir commended the team’s efforts to help a Kuwaiti patient in her 50s by carrying out this operation.

He added the success of the process had shown that national medical staff had the capabilities and the will to carry out their important duties. The Amir thanked the staff for their efforts and wished for the swift recovery of the patient. HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cables.

This was the first liver transplant by a Kuwaiti team and the 12th of its kind in the country. The patient suffered from complications of cirrhosis. General surgery and liver transplant consultant Dr Mohammad Jamal said the woman was repeatedly admitted to the ICU, and was scheduled to travel abroad for the procedure, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was not possible. As she was in dire need for a transplant to save her life, extra efforts were made to find a donor.

Jamal said the procedure is considered a historic medical achievement, the result of professional planning that doctors worked on after many years of studying and preparing. He said the patient is in good health and is improving, and the transplanted liver is functioning well. He thanked Sheikh Basel for his support.  —KUNA