Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Named Centre of Excellence for Transplants

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has been designated a Centre of Excellence for Adult Multi-Organ Transplants, recognising its capabilities in complex transplant care. The designation was conferred by the Department of Health — Abu Dhabi as part of its programme to identify facilities delivering specialised services to defined standards.
The Department of Health — Abu Dhabi describes Centres of Excellence as facilities authorised to provide specialised programmes in particular medical areas. Evaluation spans clinical outcomes, patient experience, patient safety and quality, levels of employee competency, and the organisation’s medical education, research strategies and residency programmes.
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s transplant programme began in 2017. The hospital reports more than 1,000 organ transplants completed since launch. Noted procedures include the region’s first robotic lung transplant in 2025, the UAE’s first combined heart and lung transplant in 2024, and the region’s first combined lung-liver transplant in 2023. The hospital also carried out the UAE’s first triple-paired kidney donation exchange in 2023, alongside coronary artery bypass graft and liver transplantation work and a simultaneous robotic kidney transplant procedure.
In comments on the designation, the Department of Health — Abu Dhabi said the status aligns with its efforts to expand access to services that meet international standards and best practices. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi stated that its outcomes match or exceed those of top-decile academic medical centres and that many procedures were firsts in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, and the wider region.