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About the Society

Thirty years of kidney care

Kidney care in the Emirates, from the first outpatient renal services to a national screening campaign.

Timeline

Milestones, year by year

From the UAE's earliest outpatient renal services in 1968 to EMANT's founding in 1996 and three decades of congresses, guidelines and public campaigns since, kidney care in the Emirates has grown from a handful of pioneering clinicians into a national, multidisciplinary specialty reaching all seven emirates.
Illustration of a late-1960s hospital outpatient department in the Gulf.

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1968

Abu Dhabi Central Hospital opens. Outpatient renal services follow.

1976

Intermittent peritoneal dialysis begins in the UAE.

Illustration of 1970s peritoneal dialysis equipment at a hospital bedside.

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Illustration of an early haemodialysis unit with dialysis machines.

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1977

First chronic haemodialysis programme established in Abu Dhabi.

1985

First living-related kidney transplant in the UAE, performed by Dr Abdulla Daar at Mafraq Hospital. CAPD introduced the same year.

Illustration of a surgical team in an operating theatre.

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Illustration of a transport container used to carry a donor organ.

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1989

First two deceased-donor transplants, from kidneys donated to the UAE from Europe.

1991

First paediatric nephrology centre opens in Abu Dhabi.

Illustration of a paediatric hospital ward.

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Illustration of an official document and committee meeting table.

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1993

Presidential decree on transplantation. Federal National Transplant Committee established.

1996

EMANT founded as a society of the Emirates Medical Association with fifteen members.

Illustration of a founding meeting of physicians around a table.

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Illustration of a medical education course lecture hall.

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1998

The first ISN-EMAN Update Course in Nephrology. The course ran every three years through to 2017.

2000

HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan receives a kidney transplant. The Zayed Charity Run follows, held annually in New York, Abu Dhabi and Cairo in support of renal patients, research and public awareness.

The main entrance of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Photo: Mutaz Albar, CC BY 3.0

Illustration of a public kidney health awareness activity.

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2006

EMANT begins marking World Kidney Day across all seven emirates, and has done every year since.

2007

A steering committee convened by The Transplantation Society and the International Society of Nephrology meets in Dubai. Its preparatory work leads to the Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism, adopted in Istanbul in 2008.

Illustration of an international steering committee meeting.

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Illustration of a modern hospital transplant unit.

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2008

Kidney transplantation re-established at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in partnership with Cleveland Clinic.

2012

13th MESOT Meeting, Abu Dhabi.

Illustration of a medical congress plenary session.

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Illustration of delegates at a regional nephrology congress.

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2014

The ISN-EMAN Update Course joins the 12th Congress of the Arab Society of Nephrology. The ISPD Middle East Chapter is inaugurated.

2016

Federal Decree-Law No. 5 of 2016 on the Regulation of Human Organs and Tissue Transplantation.

Illustration of federal legislation documents.

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Illustration of a haemodialysis congress exhibition floor.

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2018

First ISHD congress held in the region.

2019

First ISODP congress held in the region.

Illustration of an organ donation and procurement conference.

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Illustration of a scientific meeting with a presenting clinician.

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2021

EMANT moves to two annual scientific meetings, dedicated to glomerulonephritis and to renal replacement therapy.

2022

A national CKD awareness campaign runs across the UAE from October 2022 to April 2023, on radio, in print, on social media, in malls, parks and hypermarkets, and on Dubai taxis, alongside journal club meetings for physicians.

Illustration of a public awareness campaign in a shopping mall.

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Illustration of a paediatric nephrology congress in Dubai.

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2023

15th Asian Congress of Paediatric Nephrology, 23 to 25 November 2023, Dubai.

2024

ISPD Congress, Dubai, 26 to 29 September. The first ISPD congress held in the Middle East, with more than 1,500 delegates.

Illustration of a large international congress auditorium in Dubai.

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EMANT national Kidney Health Screening and Awareness Campaign visual.
2025

The national Kidney Health Screening and Awareness Campaign launches, endorsed by the Ministry of Health and Prevention and Emirates Health Services.