Frederick Valiente and Maria Theresa Coronel with their children pose for photographs.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

An inspiring example of true love and affection unfolded in Abu Dhabi’s Burjeel Medical City when a Filipino husband decided to donate one of his kidneys to his loved one. In a selfless act, which touched the hearts of many, Frederick Valiente, 38, has donated his kidney to his better half Maria Theresa Coronel, 37.

A multidisciplinary transplant doctors’ team in an eight-hour complex surgery successfully carried out the live transplantation, giving hope to the four-member family residing in Sharjah. The past year has been a challenging one for Frederick and Maria, as the latter had been suffering from end-stage kidney disease.

Maria and her family had to endure the unpleasant experience of undergoing dialysis sessions thrice a week to sustain life. The couple’s decision to explore alternative options was facilitated by their kidney doctor. This led them to seek a second opinion with the kidney transplant team at Burjeel Medical City, Abu Dhabi.

After completing the necessary investigations and reviewing the test results, Dr. Venkat Sainaresh Vellanki, Director - Transplant Nephrology, and Dr. Rehan Saif, Director - Transplant Surgery, at Burjeel Medical City found her to be medically fit for kidney transplantation surgery and encouraged her to speak to her family for possible voluntary kidney donation by one of them.

Testing times

The search for a donor first led to Maria’s niece, who was willing to be a kidney donor to her aunt. Unfortunately, on evaluation, she was not a match. When the hope of finding a biologically related donor was fading, Frederick stepped forward to donate one of his kidneys to his wife.

The couple, married for nearly eight years, are blessed with two lovely children and have been residents of Sharjah for the past 10 years. Fortunately for Maria, her husband turned out to be a good match and without any hesitation, he agreed to donate one of his kidneys. According to Frederick, he only did what any husband would do.

“I love my wife and would do anything for her,” he said. “I’m glad I was able to help her in some way to bring her and our family back to normal life again by donating one of my kidneys.” On the treatment plan and transplantation procedure, Dr. Venkat said the details of her past kidney disease were analyzed, she was evaluated extensively by the transplant team and found medically fit to undergo kidney transplantation surgery.

“Maria’s family members were informed that a blood-group compatible donor from the family who wished to donate voluntarily could come for medical evaluation. Maria’s niece and husband volunteered for initial evaluation and her husband, who had a compatible blood group with her, was found to be a suitable match,” said Dr. Venkat.

A Challenging Surgery

The procedure included the donor operation, which was a laparoscopic live donor right nephrectomy, and the recipient operation, a live donor renal transplant.

According to Dr. Rehan, the surgery was challenging due to the shorter length of blood vessels in the right kidney as compared to the left kidney. “Both surgeries took place simultaneously in a staggered fashion to keep the ischemia time – time that the kidney remains outside the body between being removed from the donor and transplanted into the recipient – to a minimum. The donor surgery was performed using a minimally invasive method - laparoscopically using 3D technology camera.

The renal graft was then prepared and transplanted into the recipient wherein the blood vessels (artery and vein) and ureter are anastomosed to the recipient’s blood vessels and urinary bladder,” Dr. Rehan added. Dr. Ramamurthy Ganesan Baskaran, Consultant Transplant Anesthesiologist and Dr. Nicholas Wyon, Consultant Intensivist at Burjeel Medical City were also a part of the transplant team. According to the doctors, the couple is recovering well.

The recipient is doing well with good graft function and the couple’s post-operative recovery has been uneventful, the medical team said. They have received an outpouring of support from the medical, nursing and technical staff at Burjeel Medical City. Post-transplant, the emotional bond between the family members seems to be further strengthened. They are grateful for the second chance at life. “We are so blessed and thankful,” said Maria. “It’s a miracle that Frederick and I get to share this journey.

My husband is my hero. He saved my life, and I am forever grateful.” Frederick is happy with the treatment they have received at Burjeel Medical City. “We are lucky to come to Burjeel Medical City for my wife’s surgery. The doctors and other transplant team members were very professional, sensitive, and supportive of our needs through this difficult time. I am very thankful to God and the doctors of this hospital,” he said.

It is worth noting that the National Program for Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissue “Hayat” is a national system to promote efforts to donate and transplant human organs and tissues in accordance with the highest international standards and practices in the United Arab Emirates and the region, in coordination with various strategic partners locally and globally. Work is being done to save lives and continue to improve. Community health and safety and improving the quality of life.

The program is considered a concerted efforts of many federal and local authorities, including the Ministry of Health and Community Protection, Department of Health - Abu Dhabi, Dubai Health Authority, Abu Dhabi Health Services Company "SEHA", Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Hospital, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, and a number of government and private health facilities. across the country.