Hero Aunt’s Gift Saves Youngest Liver Transplant Patient in UAE

For Yahya and Zainab Al Yassi, this year’s World Organ Donation Day carries a meaning they will never forget. Just months ago, their tiny son Ahmed, only five months old and weighing 4.4kg, was battling for his life. He had been diagnosed with an ultra-rare genetic liver disease — ATP6AP1-related congenital disorder of glycosylation — a condition so rare that fewer than 25 cases have ever been recorded worldwide.

The diagnosis hit the family hard. Ahmed was their fifth child and the first surviving son after they had lost another boy, also named Ahmed, to liver disease in 2010. “When we heard our second son had the same problem, I thought this was our destiny,” said Yahya. “We were terrified of losing him too.”

Doctors at Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi confirmed that Ahmed’s only chance was an urgent liver transplant — but the clock was ticking. A donor would need to be found fast.

That hope came from within the family. Haifaa, Ahmed’s aunt and a 37-year-old mother of five, stepped forward. She had never considered organ donation before, but the moment she learned she was a match, her decision was instant. “I read everything I could find about living donation,” she said.

“I realised that part of my liver could save his life — and I knew I had to do it. It’s a bond nothing in this world can break.”

The day of the surgery — April 4 — felt like a test of faith. The transplant team prepared for one of the most technically challenging paediatric liver transplants in the region. Led by Dr Gourab Sen and Dr Johns Shaji Mathew, the surgeons worked in fractions of a millimetre, crafting a mono-segment graft small enough to fit inside Ahmed’s tiny abdomen. Every structure they handled — blood vessels thinner than a matchstick — demanded perfect precision.

For 12 hours, the operating theatre was a place of total focus. While the surgical team worked on both donor and recipient, anaesthesiologists, intensivists, and support staff kept Ahmed stable, knowing that any mistake could cost his life.

Then, the moment everyone was waiting for — the new liver was connected, blood began to flow, and it started functioning. Ahmed had been given his second chance.

He recovered faster than anyone dared hope. Within days, he was breathing without support and feeding again. Today, he is growing stronger, his liver function is excellent, and his family is watching him meet his milestones with joy and relief.

“This is our miracle,” said Yahya. “We once lived in fear — now we celebrate life. My sister-in-law gave us hope, the doctors gave us skill, and God gave us this second chance. I hope our story inspires others to become donors. You never know whose life you might save.”