Categories: Health

KFSHRC Saves Saudi 7-Year-Old Through Cross-Border Heart Transplant with UAE Donor

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) in Riyadh has successfully performed a life-saving heart transplant on a 7-year-old Saudi child using an organ donated by a brain-dead donor in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The complex procedure was made possible through seamless cross-border 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 consent from the donor’s family and all regulatory approvals in place.

This cooperation involved precise medical and logistical coordination, starting with the organ extraction, followed by air transportation to Riyadh, and concluding with the preparation of operating theaters in record time. The transplantation was performed within a critically time-sensitive window, ultimately saving the life of a child who had no other treatment options available.

The medical team at KFSHRC performed the transplantation on the child, who was suffering from advanced heart failure due to a complex congenital heart defect. After exhausting all available treatment options—including medications, respiratory support, and pacemaker implantation—without any significant improvement, the child was placed on the urgent transplant list.

Time is a critical factor in heart transplant operations. According to medical standards, the period between removing the heart from the donor and transplanting it into the patient must not exceed five hours to ensure transplant success. This time constraint creates significant logistical challenges in addition to the complex medical procedures, particularly when the brain-dead donor is located in another region within the Kingdom or overseas. In such circumstances, every minute of delay becomes crucial to the operation’s success.

The KFSHRC Heart Centre is recognized as one of the world’s leading cardiac centers, having achieved exceptional milestones including the world’s first fully robotic heart transplant and robotic artificial heart pump implantation without chest incision. These unprecedented medical breakthroughs demonstrate the Kingdom’s leadership in complex cardiac surgery.

KFSHRC has been ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa and 15th globally in the list of the world’s top 250 Academic Medical Centers for the second consecutive year and has been recognized as the most valuable healthcare brand in the Kingdom and the Middle East, according to the 2024 Brand Finance rankings. It was included in the world’s best 250 hospitals and in the World’s Best Smart Hospitals list for 2025 by Newsweek magazine.

For more information, visit www.kfshrc.edu.sa or contact our media team at mediacoverage@kfshrc.edu.sa.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aaf4d900-7f18-4871-9809-29e19875c14a

GlobeNews Wire

Recent Posts

NR Group Honoured with 'Excellence in Multigenerational Legacy' Award at the Family Business Summit & Awards 2025

At the Family Business Summit & Awards 2025, NR Group was honoured with the prestigious…

14 minutes ago

Pluxee's Summer Carnival Delivers Value and Aspirational Rewards to India's Workforce

With rising daily costs and increasing financial mindfulness, India’s working professionals are seeking ways to…

14 minutes ago

Ravi Krishnan Launches Abler Sports & Entertainment (ASE) to 'Challenge Status Quo' of the Sports & Entertainment Industry

Sports marketing pioneer and entrepreneur Ravi Krishnan announced today the launch of Abler Sports &…

1 hour ago

Haryana Sports Minister Commends SGT University for Hosting International Kho-Kho Course Level III-A 2025 in Collaboration with KKFI and IKKF

Continuing its legacy of academic excellence and commitment to national development through sports and health…

1 hour ago

Jupiter Endovascular Announces Positive Results From SPIRARE I First-in-human Study Presented at TCT 2025

Vertex Pulmonary Embolectomy System with Transforming Fixation (TFX) Technology Demonstrates Excellent Safety, Performance and Cardiac…

3 hours ago

Guardant Health to Share Data Supporting Critical Role of Blood-Based Testing in Improving Cancer Screening Adherence at ACG 2025

Expanded cohort reiterates strong adherence rate of over 90% for Shield blood-based colorectal cancer screening…

3 hours ago