ABU DHABI // A doctor who oversees the world’s most successful organ donor system said the UAE would face challenges when it introduces "transplant champions" next month.
Dr Marti Manyalich, president of the Donation and Transplant Institute (DTI) in Spain, has trained the teams that will personally ask the families of intensive-care patients if they would consider allowing their relative to become a donor. They would do so after the patient is declared dead and a test shows that the person is a viable donor.
If the family of a deceased patient agrees, the organs would quickly be extracted and given to those on a waiting list.
The UAE intends to follow many countries in having a donor registry, which would allow members of the public to agree to donate their organs after death.
But Spain’s success is linked to the personal approach system – and five Abu Dhabi hospitals will introduce the same next month. "One hundred per cent of the time you approach families. The big difference is that the organ donation system in Spain is at the hospital level, not outside the hospital," he said.
"Healthcare professionals who know all the information about the procedure approach the family. They explain what the situation is and the families feel very comfortable. As a result, they accept the donation request 85 per cent of the time."
Dr Manyalich said medical professionals in Spain followed a hospital-based system in which doctors were responsible for organising the organ donation procedure when a potential donor was available.
"It is part of the healthcare system, while in the United States, for example, it is an independent organisation – an organ procurement organisation – and they are outside the hospital," he said.
"In our system, we call it a procurement unit and it is inside the hospital."
Having medical staff involved at every stage of the process had been credited with a high success rate, said Dr Manyalich. "The model in the US has about 25 donors per million of the population. Countries with the highest rates of donors – such as Spain, Portugal, Croatia – do not have such a donor registry," he said.
Spain has 43 donors per million people, the latest estimate shows. Each year, there are as many as 12,000 people on waiting lists for organ transplants. Half of them will receive a transplant.
"The possibility of being transplanted in Spain is high because the proportion of donors has been the highest in the world for the past 25 years," said Dr Manyalich.
He added that the UAE was following the best path for success, but said organ donations could be held up if no family members were in the country to give permission.
In the UAE, locating expatriate patients’ next of kin to secure their consent would be a challenge because hospitals would have to find a way to quickly do so, said Dr Manyalich.
Next month, a team from the institute will be providing further training to hospital staff in Abu Dhabi.
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
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Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
DUBAI WORLD CUP CARNIVAL CARD
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
The National selections
6.30pm: Gifts Of Gold
7.05pm Final Song
7.40pm Equilateral
8.15pm Dark Of Night
8.50pm Mythical Magic
9.25pm Franz Kafka
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
The team
Videographer: Jear Velasquez
Photography: Romeo Perez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Models: Meti and Clinton at MMG
Video assistant: Zanong Maget
Social media: Fatima Al Mahmoud
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 1 (Gundogan 56')
Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Solomon 69')
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