The Cardiac and Vascular Diseases and Kidney Transplant Center in Taiz has become a vital medical lifeline in war-torn Yemen, treating 110 children during a recent specialized camp and performing thousands of complex procedures since July 2021. Supported by international teams (including Sidra Medicine) and local benefactors, the centre now runs roughly 500 operations a month and offers dramatically reduced costs for open-heart surgery. It has also performed Yemen’s first liver transplants and plans to expand transplant services cautiously while monitoring outcomes.
Taiz Medical Team Sparks Lifesaving Revolution: Cardiac, Transplant Care Grows Amid War
Noor Majed after treatment in the hospital [Abdulhakim Helal/Al Jazeera]
Ten-year-old Noor Majid lies in a hospital bed in Taiz, southwest Yemen, recovering after surgery to close an atrial septal defect — a congenital “hole in the heart.” A visitor asks, “May I take a picture?” She smiles and shifts into position, hopeful that the operation will let her play and breathe like other children her age.
Multinational Camp Brings Free Care to Children
Between May 16 and 21, the Cardiac and Vascular Diseases and Kidney Transplant Center in Taiz hosted a Catheterization and Complex Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Camp that treated 110 children from across Yemen free of charge. The multinational effort involved cardiac teams from Qatar, Arab countries and France, including specialists from Qatar’s Sidra Medicine, and was supported by Qatar Charity and the Qatar Red Crescent.
The team of surgeons has carried out hundreds of transplants and vital operations [Courtesy of the Cardiac and Vascular Diseases and Kidney Transplant Center]
Rapidly Growing Centre, Lifesaving Impact
Since opening in July 2021, the Taiz centre has become a critical medical lifeline in a city battered by siege and shelling. Despite the war, the facility reports performing thousands of procedures: around 1,500 open-heart surgeries, 164 kidney transplants, nearly 4,000 vascular operations, 4,340 catheterization procedures and 1,500 urology operations. Last month the centre announced Yemen’s first three liver transplants and plans to expand the programme cautiously while monitoring long-term outcomes.
Affordable Care Close to Home
Dr Nader al-Hammadi, a resident cardiovascular surgeon, explains that receiving treatment locally spares patients the physical strain and expense of travelling abroad. An open-heart operation that might cost about $20,000 overseas — plus travel and living expenses — can be done in Taiz for roughly $5,000, with typical patient contributions around $2,000. The remainder is subsidised by benefactors such as the Hayel Saeed Anam Group, Al-Zailai Company and Al-Kuraimi Bank.
Professor Abudar al-Ganadi founded the medical facility in Taiz [Courtesy of the Cardiac and Vascular Diseases and Kidney Transplant Center]
From Ruin To A Functioning Hospital
Professor Abudar al-Ganadi, who has led the centre since its founding, describes how the project began amid devastation. When he returned to Taiz in 2021 he found only two usable floors of the Republican Hospital and an out-of-service catheterization machine. By mobilising private support and donated equipment, the team built the centre from scratch: operations climbed from a handful per month in year one to roughly 500 procedures a month today. Bed capacity grew from six to 131 beds, including 23 intensive care beds.
Training, Specialisation And Hope
The centre’s growth has given Yemeni surgeons vital hands-on experience, including expertise in minimally invasive heart procedures (about 220 cases to date). The success of these services has even drawn Yemenis living abroad to travel back for treatment. Professor al-Ganadi emphasizes cautious expansion — especially for liver transplants — saying the team will evaluate outcomes after initial cohorts before announcing broader results.
“We started from zero,” Professor al-Ganadi said. “We have earned trust, but the dream is not yet complete. Challenges, just like ambition, never end.”
The Taiz centre stands as a rare and tangible health-sector success amid a prolonged conflict — a reminder that medical progress and international cooperation can save lives even in the hardest circumstances.
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