Suffering school girl appeals for new heart

17-year-old Marwa of Oman is bed-ridden in the intensive care unit at Umm Al Quwain hospital away from her school class. Without help, the girl might not be able to see her class again as she is suffering from a serious cardiac illness and is in urgent need for a new heart.

The hospital says it is doing its best to keep Marwa alive but that it does not have a heart transplant facility nor does this unit exist in the UAE. Her doctors say Marwa has no choice but to be sent abroad.

Theoretically, Marwa can be treated abroad but practically she can not have that costly treatment at her own expense given her limited financial resources.

Despite her illness, Marwa has been one of the top students in her class and would love to return to school, according to Albayan newspaper.

Marwa is suffering from a congenital heart muscle decline, a problem which requires a transplant to replace her heart with another.

She fell ill nearly three months ago and is now on support machines at Umm Al Quwain hospital, where doctors say she would remain in the intensive care unit before she gets help to go abroad for treatment.

“Doctors told us we have to take her to a specialized heart centre abroad urgently but the problem we can not fund such costly treatment…if we have the money, we will not hesitate in transferring her right now…we hope that she will get the required help so she will be cured and can return to her school,” her brother Atef told the paper.

Her doctor, Mohammed Taiseer Al Masri, a consultant at Umm Al Quwain hospital, said Marwa needs a heart transplant operation to regain her normal health. He said she must be sent abroad for treatment because there is no specialized transplant centre in the UAE.

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