„…HCC, through Dr Annelies Fitzgerald, has contributed significantly to a number of important courses for transplant procurement coordination in the Middle East. Her ability to transcend cultural differences and reach the hearts of the participants is phenomenal. Similarly she was part of an International Team of Health Experts who performed kidney transplants in Yemen under difficult circumstances. Her communication skills within the team, with the local health staff as well as with the donors and recipients earned her much praise and was instrumental in the success of the venture. Her work in this connection resulted in the coining of the term “The Annelies Factor”**
** Annals of Transplantation Vol. 10, No. 1, 2005
(Head, Division of Nephrology, Hypertension & Renal Transplantation -King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Chair, Saudi National Kidney Transplant Committee, Editor-in-Chief, Saudi Journal for Kidney Diseases and Transplantation)