More than 26,000 people in the UAE have signed up to be organ donors under a nationwide healthcare drive.
The Emirates has made significant strides since the government passed a law in 2016 allowing for organ transplants from both the living and the dead.
The UAE launched the National Programme for Organ Donation and Transplantation – or Hayat, which means life – in November 2022 to support the strategy.
The scheme aims to encourage members of the community to sign up to help improve the quality of life of patients suffering from organ failure.
More than 800 organ transplants were successfully performed in Abu Dhabi under the Hayat programme by the end of last year.
Organ donations increased by 56 per cent and organ transplants by 36 per cent in the capital last year compared to the previous year, Abu Dhabi's Department of Health said this week.
It recorded 422 kidney transplants, 259 liver transplants, 41 lung transplants, 22 heart transplants, 14 pancreas transplants, and 51 multi-organ transplants.
The latest figures were shared in recognition of World Organ Donation Day, which was observed on Tuesday.
Organs were transplanted from both living and dead donors through groundbreaking procedures involving robotic surgeries and other advanced medical technologies, the DOH added.
Dr Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, the undersecretary of the Department of Health, highlighted how organ donation “saves countless lives and offers patients the chance for a full recovery” and “provides renewed hope, enhances the quality of life and serves as a powerful symbol of community solidarity”.
Who can become an organ donor and how can you register?
All UAE residents, aged 18 and above, with a valid Emirates ID can register to become donors through the Ministry of Health's website.
After completing the registration, the applicant will receive an electronic donor card.
Organ transplants are performed at nine licensed healthcare centres in the UAE.
The approved centres are; Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Burjeel Medical City, and Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, all in Abu Dhabi. In Dubai, King's College Hospital London, Dubai Hospital, Mediclinic Hospital and Al Jalila Specialist Hospital for Children are approved while Sharjah's Al Qassimi Hospital is also on the list.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
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