Taiz Organ Transplant Center Sparks Medical Revolution in Yemen

A 10-year-old girl lies in a hospital bed in Taiz, southwestern Yemen, recovering from surgery to repair an atrial septal defect—a congenital heart condition that had caused her breathlessness and fatigue since birth. Noor Majid is one of 110 children from across Yemen who received free treatment at the Taiz Cardiovascular and Kidney Transplant Center between May 16 and 21.

This complex pediatric heart surgery campaign was a multinational effort involving medical teams from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and France from Sidra Medicine (Qatar), along with consultant doctors from across Yemen, supported by the Qatar Charity and the Qatar Red Crescent.

Professor Abudar al-Ganadi, who has led the center since its founding in July 2021, calls it "the country's largest medical camp," where complex operations are performed in high volume over a short period. In just five years, the facility has become one of Yemen's most significant recent medical achievements.

Despite the ongoing war, the center has performed 164 kidney transplants, 1,450 open-heart surgeries, nearly 4,000 vascular procedures, 4,340 catheterizations, and 1,500 urological operations. Yemeni patients with cardiovascular and kidney diseases can now receive treatment at home, rather than traveling abroad at costs of up to $20,000 per procedure. In Taiz, the cost is just $5,000, with patients paying $2,000 and the remainder covered by philanthropists such as the Hayel Saeed Anam Group, Al-Zailai Company, and Al-Kuraimi Bank.

Last month, the center announced it had successfully performed its first three liver transplants, drawing international attention and potentially launching a sustainable liver disease treatment program in Yemen. Professor al-Ganadi cautiously noted that only time would tell if the procedures were successful, but he expressed hope for positive outcomes. "We launched the liver transplant program quietly and cautiously. We will continue gradually and will not announce preliminary results until we reach 10 cases, then 50—just like the cardiovascular program."

Taiz, one of Yemen's most war-torn cities, saw its health system collapse due to blockades and shelling. The establishment of this center in a besieged, exhausted city is considered a miracle. Resident doctor Nader al-Hammadi emphasized that receiving treatment at home saves patients time and money, while the center performs surgeries that are not even available abroad.

Professor al-Ganadi dreamed of founding a cardiology unit in his hometown after returning from Russia in 2009, but disappointment over the war forced him to leave Yemen for Saudi Arabia in 2018. However, in July 2021, the governor of Taiz called to ask if he still wanted to establish the center, and he immediately returned. Initially, he was given just two floors of the devastated Republican Hospital and a broken catheterization machine. With support from the private sector—especially the Hayel Saeed Anam Group—the center gradually took shape. "We started from zero, but Hayel Saeed Anam was always with us," he said.

From an initial six beds, the center now has 131 beds, including 23 intensive care beds. After performing only 60 open-heart surgeries in its first year, the center now handles 500 procedures per month, including 50 adult open-heart surgeries, 70 vascular operations, and 300 catheterizations. "In the first year, we did 60 open-heart surgeries; now we do that many in a month. That means this is the largest open-heart surgery center in Yemen," al-Ganadi stated. "I was influenced by Russian thinking—they taught me how to start from zero and work inside a dilapidated building with broken windows. We have won trust, but the dream is not yet complete. The challenges, like the ambitions, never end."