“Payments to kidney donors are seldom delayed. The unfortunate delay in the case of Walid Al-Ghamdi, the kidney donor, is related to some bureaucratic formalities,” a medical official from the King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah told Arab News on condition of anonymity.
The official denied any negligence from medical staff at the hospital caused the delayed payment.
The official added that the payment to a kidney donor is, technically speaking, not the price for the organ but a charitable grant as a token of gratitude.
The sum was paid to Al-Ghamdi by a charity organization in the city. “The approval for the grant of SR50,000 was in line with a government order following a proposal from the Prince Fahd bin Salman Charity Society for Renal Failure in October 2006,” the official said.
The government is paying special attention to kidney failure patients as the number of those needed treatment for the condition is on the increase, he said.
As part of its efforts to help patients who need organ transplants, the government has issued several orders including the setting up of the King Abdul Aziz Medal of Third Order to donors of hearts, livers, kidneys or marrows in February 1990. Another order to help kidney patients was the grant of leave for dialysis with full salary if the person is a government employee.
To encourage kidney donors, the government also announced a payment of SR50,000 to the donor’s dependents if he or she dies.
Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, also ordered Saudi Arabian Airlines to give a 25 percent discount on three tickets a year on domestic flights to anyone receiving a kidney transplant.
The patient is eligible to enjoy the concession for three years. A donor can also enjoy a 50 percent discount on three tickets on both domestic and international flights.
Prince Sultan approved a proposal where a member of the military certified unfit for service after kidney failure is paid 70 percent of his last salary as pension (if his pension is not otherwise more than that amount).
A kidney donor who is forced to retire because of poor health is eligible for 70 percent of his last salary as pension.
Saudia also allows 240 kilograms of free medical baggage on both national and international flights for a kidney patient if the flight originates from the Kingdom.
The Social Affairs Ministry provides an annual grant of SR10,000 to patients suffering from renal failure.
