Hayat organ donation program marks major milestone
The Hayat organ donation program has helped save more than 1,500 patients in the United Arab Emirates through transplants from deceased donors since its launch in 2017, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said. The ministry reported the cumulative number of deceased donors reached 549 by June 2026, reflecting rapid development in the national organ donation and transplant system.
According to official statements, the program has facilitated 1,780 organ transplants to date, including 924 kidneys, 502 livers, 181 lungs, 151 hearts and 22 pancreases. These figures underline the expanding capacity of organ transplantation UAE services and the program’s role in converting civic goodwill into lifesaving treatment.
How the program operates and accredited transplant centers
The Hayat organ donation program is managed by the Ministry’s National Centre for Organ Donation and Transplantation, which oversees donor identification, organ retrieval, preservation, allocation and transport. The centre also sets licensing standards, monitors quality and trains clinical teams, officials said.
Services are delivered through nine accredited transplant centers across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. In Abu Dhabi, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi conducts heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas transplants, while Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and Burjeel Medical City provide liver and kidney programs for adults and children. Dubai Hospital and Mediclinic Dubai offer adult kidney transplants, Al Jalila Children’s Hospital performs pediatric kidney transplants, and King’s College Hospital London – Dubai provides adult and pediatric liver transplant services and living-donor kidney transplantation. In Sharjah, Al Qasimi Hospital and Medcare offer kidney transplant services for adults.
Furthermore, the network model links emergency services, operating theatres, laboratories and logistics to ensure rapid coordination in time-sensitive donation and transplant processes. This integrated approach supports consistent evaluation of organ quality and recipient compatibility before surgery, which is critical to clinical outcomes.
Clinical outcomes, innovation and workforce development
The ministry highlighted strong clinical outcomes for Hayat-supported transplants. Reported results include a one-year patient survival rate of 96.5% for kidney transplants and 99% graft function preservation, a 91.4% survival rate for lung transplant recipients with 100% preserved lung function in reported cases, 95% 30-day survival for heart recipients with 89.5% ongoing graft function, and a 93% one-year survival rate for liver transplants with 92.3% graft function retention. These statistics were cited by ministry officials as evidence of high-quality care across the system.
On the technical side, the program has adopted advanced preservation methods such as machine perfusion and is using artificial intelligence to support organ quality assessment and donor–recipient matching. The country also recorded its first robotic lung transplant, placing it among a small group of nations performing such complex procedures.
Capacity-building has been a parallel focus. The ministry and partners have trained more than 10,000 healthcare professionals in donation-related skills and established a national on-call network of roughly 150 specialised staff who support donation pathways around the clock. Officials say this multidisciplinary effort involves more than 20 medical and allied specialties working across multiple facilities for a single donation and transplant episode.
Legal framework, incentives and regional cooperation
Program growth has been supported by a modern regulatory framework. Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2023 and its executive regulations provide the foundational legal basis for donation and allocation policies, while a Ministerial Decision issued in 2026 introduced a package of recognition and healthcare-related incentives for donors and their families, the ministry stated.
The UAE also leads the Gulf Cooperation Council in deceased donor rates, reporting 13.95 deceased donors per million population. Regional cooperation has expanded access to organs in urgent cases: more than 550 organs have been exchanged between the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait under existing agreements. Bilateral accords and a wider regional network aim to support training, capacity building and logistical coordination for cross-border organ sharing.
Demand, strategic priorities and public awareness
Despite gains, demand remains high. More than 4,000 patients in the UAE are currently awaiting treatment for chronic kidney failure, according to ministry figures, which underscores the need to expand donor registration and reduce waiting times. The number of registered deceased donors and transplant activity both rose markedly in 2025, with donor registrations up 35.5% and transplant procedures increasing 31% year-on-year, the ministry reported.
Strategic priorities include expanding donation after circulatory death (DCD) pathways, broadening tissue donation programs for corneas, bone, skin and heart valves, and extending transplant services to more complex procedures such as intestinal and uterine transplants and vascularised composite allotransplantation (face, hand and arm). The ministry also aims to integrate donation units within hospitals, staffed by trained clinicians and nurses to identify donors, support families and coordinate logistics.
Public education remains central. The ministry continues campaigns to explain donation processes, clinical safeguards and the social impact of organ donation, while sharing donor and recipient stories to highlight the human dimension of donation decisions.
What to watch next
Officials said the Hayat organ donation program will continue to develop under its current strategic plans, with a focus on increasing donor pools, improving matching and preservation technologies, and deepening regional partnerships. Stakeholders and patients should watch for updates on expanded hospital-based donation units, new clinical programs for advanced transplant types, and periodic performance reports from the National Centre for Organ Donation and Transplantation.
As the program scales, the ministry has emphasized the combined role of legislation, clinical capacity and public engagement in sustaining progress. Observers will likely track donor registration trends and transplant volumes through the remainder of 2026 and into the UAE’s broader health objectives aligned with Vision 2031.
