MoH to begin heart transplant program in 1st quarter of 2020 – Surgeries abroad cost KD 500,000

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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 26: Ministry of Health will inaugurate the heart transplant program in the first quarter of 2020, following the formation of the national multidisciplinary committee which was mandated to establish the program in Kuwait, reports Aljarida daily quoting informed sources.

They explained that heart transplant surgeries conducted abroad cost about KD 500,000. Conducting the procedure inside the country will save tens of millions of dinars annually from the budget of overseas treatment.

The committee, which is composed of a number of cardiologists, will study emergency cases to start the transplant program for Kuwaiti patients, whose numbers were estimated at about 200 patients during the first year. the heart surgical operations will start in the Chest Diseases Hospital, Al-Dabbous Heart Center and Jaber Hospital.

There are tens of thousands of patients suffering from heart failure in Kuwait, and a large part of them need heart transplants. The sources affirmed that the committee, which was formed early last month, has already started to develop plans and mechanisms for launching the agriculture program.

They indicated that the committee held a number of meetings to discuss some technical issues, and coordinate among specialists regarding the knowledge of availability of organs for transplant in the first quarter of next year. On the other hand, the Board Chairman of Otolaryngology (specialist in the disorders of the ear, nose or throat) and Head of the Department of Otolaryngology at Zain and Al-Sabah hospitals Dr Mutlaq Al-Seihan inaugurated the 42nd otorhinolaryngology conference, which will take place on November 27-29.

The conference is being organized in coordination and partnership with the Austrian Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Kuwait Society of Surgeons, and Kuwait Society of Sleep Diseases.

In his statement, Dr Al-Seihan revealed that the conference will host a number of international experts and consultants from Austria, England, the United States of America, and Australia, as well as many Arab and Gulf consultants from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE.

He affirmed that the conference is an opportunity for all otolaryngologists to get acquainted with the latest technologies and surgeries related to ENT diseases, which will help in raising the scientific and technical level of doctors in Kuwait.

Dr Al-Seihan stressed that the conference will have a number of different workshops, including a special workshop for the training of artificial temporary ears to develop the surgical capabilities of the doctors, and a workshop on hearing and speech diseases.

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