Patients receive hearts from donors in Saudi Arabia, UAE.

The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre has given hope to three patients, two men and one girl, after it successfully transplanted hearts from donors in Riyadh, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi.

The journey of hope began with medical teams traveling from the hospital’s cardiac unit to Abu Dhabi and Jeddah to remove the hearts from two donors. The hearts were then transported by private jet to Riyadh.

A team from King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre then traveled to the King Abdulaziz Medical City to remove the third heart. It was transported by ambulance with the cooperation of the traffic department of the Riyadh region, which accelerated its arrival.

Traffic patrols escorting ambulances from King Khalid International Airport and King Abdulaziz Medical City to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre helped enable the transplant operations to take place within less than 24 hours.

One of the patients was a 9-year-old girl suffering from a weakened heart muscle. Her life had been saved by implanting an artificial pump last March.