The Liverpool Kidney Transplant Initiative - saving lives in Gaza amidst severe challenges
Channel: Freedom Flotilla Coalition
Date: 2023-08-15

An excerpt from an event about the 2023 sailing of the Freedom Flotilla boat, Handala. Hosted by the Liverpool Friends of Palestine to welcome the Freedom Flotilla to Liverpool, Monday July 3, 2023. For more information about our mission #ForGazaKids to help #EndGazaBlockade, see: https://freedomflotilla.org/our-2023-mission/

From the projects website:
http://www.liverpooliti.com/gaza-project-so-far.html

The Beginning of Our Journey: 2012

In 2012, 60 years after the first successful kidney transplant internationally, a transplant operation had never been performed in Gaza. We were determined that our team’s would be the first. However, there were a myriad of obstacles to be overcome before any of the 500 patients who were on dialysis in Gaza could benefit from the lifesaving operation. First and foremost, facilities taken for granted in British hospitals were lacking. This difficulty was coupled by the lack of trained transplant surgeons in Gaza. The third major obstacle was the stringent transport restrictions. Nevertheless our team decided to press ahead and focused on Al-Shifa’a Hospital as the location for their pilot scheme.

Our first trip to Gaza in April 2012 was focused purely on working out logistics and determining the feasibility of proposed plan. We met with The Ministry of Health and examined the suitability of possible patients. We settled on two middle-aged patients as likely successful candidates.

After this trip, an arduous process of laying the groundwork for the transplants was undertaken. Because the law in Gaza did not permit cadaver transplant donations, our team decided to undertake live donor transplants. Given the lack of facilities in Gaza, even blood samples taken from patients had to be sent to the UK for analysis. Difficulties in this process meant that this had to be done three times before a satisfactory result was obtained. Finally, after eight months of prep, both the team and our prospective patients were ready.

Gaza's First Ever Transplant and Beyond: 2013

On the 23rd January 2013, our team successfully conducted the Gaza’s first ever transplant. The patient, Zaid Ma’atouk, received a kidney from his wife, ending four painful years of dialysis. Over the following week we conducted another live donor transplant. Around six months later, in June 2013, we  would make return trips to Gaza, this time prepping for and conducting a further three successful transplants. This time the beneficiaries were two young children suffering from kidney failure, Fatma Othman, and Abdelmotalib Rihan, both aged 9 as well as a 47-year-old mother of eight.  Over the next year, we would return to Gaza and conduct a further three successful transplants.