Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Aug 02, 2025

KFSHRC Riyadh succeeds in transplanting heart to youngest patient in Middle East

KFSHRC Riyadh succeeds in transplanting heart to youngest patient in Middle East

A pediatric heart surgery team at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC) in Riyadh has succeeded in performing a heart transplant for a less than 8-month-old Emirati girl, the youngest patient in the Middle East, in less than 24 hours.
The surgery team was moved to Dubai to conduct a heart removal surgery from a deceased donor in the UAE, and that after completing the coordination and legal procedure and taking approval from the donor's family.

This has been done in cooperation with the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT), the National Program for Organ Donation and Transplantation, Hayat, and the air medical evacuation plane of the Saudi Defense Ministry.

The Emirati child is considered the youngest case to have undergone this surgery. Eleven-month-old girl Ghaim was the previous youngest case that underwent a heart transplant last year 2021. The two surgeries were performed for the two girls in KFSHRC Riyadh.

Moreover, the team has also moved to Makkah to conduct a heart removal surgery from a deceased donor, and went back to Riyadh to transplant the heart to a 19-month-old Saudi girl.

The medical team overcame all logistical challenges, in cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Defense air medical evacuation.

All operations were carried out within a record time of no more than 24 hours. This came months after the Saudi and Emirati girls were relying on an artificial pump, due to lack of donors.

The cases of the two girls are witnessing continuous improvement after they underwent heart transplant surgery, as they are currently undergoing periodic medical follow-up.

The two cases were in a critical condition before the transplant surgery, as a result of severe heart failure. The girls were back then placed in intensive care waiting for the availability of heart donors.

This kind of surgeries require highly experienced human cadres, and an advanced medical infrastructure, which is available in KFSHRC.

This, alongside the readiness of qualitative logistical support that facilitates the movement of the medical team in record time that have been offered by the air medical evacuation plane, has played a pivotal role to accomplish this kind of surgeries.

It is noteworthy that the heart transplantation program for children and adults at KFSHRC is the largest in the Middle East, and is distinguished by having achieved results similar to the results of heart transplantation achieved globally.

The total number of heart transplant surgeries conducted at the KFSHRC, reached more than 431 heart transplants since the establishment of the program in 1989.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
×