Sharjah: A 21-year-old Emirati, who became the UAE’s first recipient of an artificial heart three months ago, died in Chicago where he was sent to have a natural heart transplant, Gulf News can exclusively reveal.
Senior officials confirmed that Salem Juma Mohammad Al Junaibi’s condition had worsened and he suffered a brain stroke, leading to his death on September 12.
His brother told Gulf News that the burial was held on September 13 at a Sharjah cemetery.
“This is the wish of Almighty Allah, we thank Him for everything. The hospitals in the UAE and Chicago did their best for my brother. We thank them for their efforts to save him, but this is the Almighty’s decision,” Al Junaibi’s brother said.
Al Junaibi was first referred to Al Qasimi Hospital on June 11 in poor condition, Dr Al Nooryani, a doctor who treated him, had earlier told Gulf News: “Two days later, he had a cardiac arrest and doctors thought they had lost him. He was clinically dead,” he added.
“After we noticed his heart had stopped beating, we connected his femoral artery with an external pump that takes over the cardiac function.”
A neurologist was then called in who noticed some brain activity, at which point the team decided to go for an artificial heart transplant.
“We took out a piece of heart muscle — double the size of a dirham coin — and implanted the LVAD [Left Ventricle Assist Device], which took over the function of the left ventricle,” Dr Nooryani had said, adding that this device also aided the right ventricle and normal pumping was restored.
“Over the past weeks, Al Junaibi suffered from infections and fever, which was not related to the installed pump. We kept him in the hospital to follow up on his condition. He was gradually recovering. We faced serious issues but we managed to deal with them.”
Al Junaibi was supposed to leave the hospital 15 days after the surgery, which lasted five hours and cost around Dh1 million. “However, the infections and fever forced us to keep him in the hospital for longer,” said Dr Nooryani.
On August 24, Al Junaibi left Al Qasimi Hospital in an ambulance for Abu Dhabi, from where he flew to Chicago. Al Junaibi, who left the hospital with a smile, said he was grateful to the team of doctors who treated him.