(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) have signed an agreement to pursue joint work on the kidney transplantation project being undertaken by QRC under the Patient Support Fund.
Under the deal, QRC will raise funds to cover surgeries for kidney and liver transplant patients at HMC, in addition to non-medical costs such as travel, visa, and accommodation for patients, donors, and caretakers from outside Qatar. The project is part of QRC's Health Empowerment Programme (Patient Support Fund), established in 2006 to offer financial and non-financial assistance to poor patients to cover part or all of the costs of their surgeries and treatment.
Over 2010-14, 1,171 patients were served at a cost of QR11,450,000. This year, the fund works with an annual budget of QR3.5m.
The signing ceremony was attended by Saleh bin Ali Al Mohannadi, Secretary-General, QRC, Rashid bin Saad Al Mohannadi, Director, Social Development Department, QRC, Dr Yousef Al Maslamani, Director, Qatar Centre for Organ Transplantation at HMC and Medical Director of Hamad General Hospital, and Dr Riadh Fadhil, Director, Qatar Organ Donation Centre (HIBA).
"The project has achieved many goals and we will proceed towards more success. We are proud of working with HMC, in consideration of its humanitarian role and fruitful engagement in helping patients who urgently need such critical surgeries," said Al Mohannadi.
The secretary-general thanked HMC for partnership with QRC as an auxiliary to Qatar, particularly in the health sector and hailed the executive staff of the programme for their hard work.
Dr Al Maslamani said he is happy with the five-year health partnership with QRC, with 32 patients undergoing kidney transplants at HMC from inside and outside Qatar.
"Despite the difficulty of finding donors, we and QRC could expand the scope of the programme, helping relieve the pain of more patients and bolstering the centre's expertise. We will go on with this successful endeavour together with QRC," he said.
According to Dr Fadhil, "things are different from five years ago: 45,000 people are registered for postmortem organ donation, and 70 percent of Qatari renal patients have donors from relatives or friends. In 2015, some 14 transplants were performed, including four livers."
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