PalMed’s third delegation passed the Rafah Crossing into Gaza today
at the end of four days of waiting. The delegation consists of five specialists in neurosurgery, general medicine, interventional radiology, spinal surgery and orthopaedic surgery.
The current delegation is joining their PalMed colleagues working alongside their Palestinian colleagues in extremely difficult situation since the start of the war on Gaza.
PalMed surgeons team from the Royal Liverpool hospital carried out Gaza’s first organ transplant a fortnight ago as part of a long-term plan to train local medical staff to perform the surgery, according to The Guardian newspaper.
Two patients underwent kidney transplants at Gaza’s largest public hospital, The Shifa, which often suffers from power cuts and medical supply shortages.
Ziad Matouk, one of the patients, was born with one kidney and was also diagnosed with renal failure several years ago. He said “I cannot express my happiness, I’m proud to have had one of the first transplant operations in Gaza. I want to hug and kiss all the doctors,’ reported The Guardian.
Matouk’s wife donated one of her kidneys in hope of him returning to his job as a falafel vendor in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza. Ziad applied to have the transplant in Cairo, however he was rejected as “unsuitable” and was also unable to afford the private fee.
Abdelkader Hammad a doctor at the Royal Liverpool hospital began plans to go to Gaza for the transplants a year ago when he was contacted by an anesthetist at The Shifa hospital who explained the difficulties they faced with dialysis.
The Shifa is forced to rely on generators due to daily power cuts, the anesthetist further explained that spare parts for ageing dialysis machines have also been difficult to import as well as supplies including blood lines, filters and saline solution.
Israel had large restrictions on imports to Gaza from 2007 to 2010, they continue to control the flow of goods in and out of the Palestinian enclave.
There are approximately 500 patients including 40 children who require dialysis two to three times a week at the hospital.
The two patients who were selected for surgery were Mohammed Duhair and Ziad Matouk, both 42 years of age.
The first to undergo the grueling six hour surgery was Duhair who received a kidney donated by his younger brother. He said he was anxious about the surgery and that he hoped he would be able to have a normal life after being reassured by the British surgeons.
Several days after Duhair’s surgery Ziad Matouk underwent the transplant after his wife had surgery to donate her kidney, she said that it was her “fate and destiny” to give her kidney to her loving husband.
Sobhi Skaik, head of surgery at the Gaza hospital said “we are very satisfied with the results, for the patients, it means that their lives are no longer dependent upon machines. Both the surgeons and the patients’ families are very happy.”
In an attempt to reduce the suffering of the Palestinian people in the holy month of Ramadan, PalMed-France raised donations for the Salam for Special Needs organization. The amount was dispersed to people with special needs in Gaza. This support comes at a time when people with special needs and disabilities are living in very harsh circumstances. They lack the equipment and materials needed to overcome daily difficulties.
The organisation represented by its chair Mr. Mohammed Al-Arabi showed its gratitude towards this generous gesture which 68 families benefitted from. He also mentioned that he was looking forward to developing further cooperation between the two organizations.
PalMed-France sent a shipment of €10,000 worth of essential medicine and drugs to the Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Ranteesi Hospital in the Gaza strip in August. The shipment was given mainly to the neurological disorders department in the hospital and included medicine for epilepsy and baby’s milk.The hospital’s deputy head Dr Mustafa Al-Eela sent PalMed EU a letter of thanks in which he expressed his gratitude and appreciation to what it does while the Forum pledged to continue its efforts to reduce the suffering of Palestinian patients especially children.
A delegation from the Young Journalists Club in Gaza will be visiting France as a response to an invitation by the French town of Neffies. PalMed EU chair Dr. Mohammed Al-Salem will be accompanying the delegation in addition to a number of others. The delegation will consist of 5 girls: Maram, Nour, Rana, Lara and Emma who will participate in the 5th Youth for Peace meeting.
Whilst listening to members of the delegation, a sense of respect is immediately given towards these girls who came from a besieged land and who insist on carrying a clear message and on making their voices heard. Their message is a message of humanity and struggle to the youth and to the peace loving forces in this world. After having a conversation with them they appear to be very mature unlike the misconceptions one would have towards people coming from a place with unusual and harsh circumstances and that has been besieged for the past 4 years.
Each one of the girls has a different character, one is shy, one is more willing to start a conversation, one speaks English while the other speaks French. However, they all insist to deliver one united message. One girl answered a journalist’s question saying “We want the free world to listen to us so we can explain our case. The Palestinian people are civilized and love other peoples from other countries. We are open to other cultures and experiences and we like to follow international events”. She added that “Palestinians like to travel, go out and see the world; however we are unable to do so because of the siege and the halt of the peace process. We are one of the most energetic and active people in the region and we have several talents and potentials, all we need is solidarity and support”.
They also added that they condemn the Israeli siege on Gaza. The physical and psychological scars it is causing to children, women and Gazans reminds them of the war Israel lead on Gaza.
They appear as professional journalists when they are actually students in different faculties such as Arts, Humanities and Business. At the same time, they run the Young Journalists Club in Gaza.
They represent the link between Palestinian’s suffering and the attempt to express this suffering to Western reporters by taking photographs, gathering evidences, running websites and contacting media outlets in an attempt to make their voices heard. The delegation was invited as part of the club’s activities to take part in the fifth meeting for the Youth for Peace.
Lille was the next stop for these girls where they met representatives of several organisations (such as the France-Palestine Solidarity Organisation) in order to promote the club’s activities and to speak to the youth in the city.
Their next stop will be next Friday and will be in Paris to see the Eiffel tower before travelling back to Palestine to continue their struggle.
Inauguration of the blood bank in Dr. Abdulaziz Alranteesi hospital
On the 17th of April, a blood bank was opened in Dr. Abdulaziz Alranteesi Speciality Hospital for Children. The bank gave blood and plasma transfusions to the hospital in addition to other hospitals such as the Nasr Hospital for children, Eye hospital, the Psychiatric hospital and the Mohammed Aldurra hospital for children.
The blood bank works 24/7 which eased the pressure in Al-Shifaa’ hospital and also eased the pains of Palestinian patients especially children whilst providing special medical services in blood transfusions.
The blood bank was funded by PalMed-Germany and was constructed via Islamic Relief. The project’s costs totalled up to 82,000 Euros which collected following a meeting that took place in spring 2009 between the two. Dr. Mohammed Salem (head of PalMed EU) and Dr. Mohammed Abu Nada (PalMed’s representative in Gaza and head of the nuoro department at the hospital) checked the project before it launched. Flowers were given out to the patients in different departments to celebrate the opening.
