How a Life-Saving Double Organ Transplant Changed Everything for a Kuwaiti Mother

What began as a joyful family holiday in June 2024 quickly turned into a nightmare for Kuwaiti mother-of-three Nashami.

In June 2024, Kuwaiti mother-of-three Nashami was on a family holiday when she began feeling unusually tired. Soon her feet were swollen, her eyes turned yellow, and her energy was gone. What she thought was simple travel exhaustion turned into something far more alarming.

Back in Kuwait, doctors delivered devastating news: severe liver cirrhosis and kidney failure, caused by a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the bile ducts and liver, also impairing kidney function. Without an urgent combined liver and kidney transplant, her life was in immediate danger.

With her condition deteriorating, specialists in Kuwait and the UK recommended she travel to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD) — one of the region’s most advanced multi-organ transplant centres. From the moment she arrived, she was met with warmth, expert guidance, and a dedicated international patient services team who prepared her for the life-saving surgery ahead.

Thanks to the UAE-Kuwait organ sharing programme, established in 2021, Nashami was quickly added to a shared waiting list — expanding her chances of finding a match. Then came the moment she will never forget: the call that a suitable donor had been found.

In a meticulously coordinated effort, CCAD’s surgeons performed back-to-back liver and kidney transplants. Timing was critical — the shorter the gap between organ retrieval and surgery, the greater the chance of success. With precision and care, the team completed the procedure with minimal blood loss, giving Nashami the gift of life.

Today, she is back in Kuwait, healthy, active, and grateful. She calls Abu Dhabi her “second home” and credits the seamless cooperation between the UAE and Kuwait, the expertise of the CCAD team, and the generosity of her donor for her remarkable recovery.

Her story is more than just a medical success — it’s proof of how collaboration, innovation, and human kindness can turn a moment of fear into the ultimate winning moment: a second chance at life.