15,000 on wait list, but only 50 kidney donors a year available

The Kingdom has 15,000 kidney-failure patients, compared with only 50 donors a year, said a high-ranking official at a prominent organ donation organization.
“This is why it is vital to educate citizens on the importance of organ donation,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Turki, chairman of Ethar.
“The society speaks with the relatives of clinically dead patients through a committee in a bid to increase the number of donors,” he said.
“A single brain-dead patient can save the lives of nine other patients who are in dire need of different vital organs, such as the heart, liver, kidney, lungs and cornea.”
Al-Turki was speaking during an open seminar that was recently held in Alkhobar ahead of a major regional public awareness campaign next month to educate Saudis and expatriates on the importance of organ donation.
Eastern Province Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif has given the green light for the campaign across the region with a variety of programs, including lectures, exhibitions, Friday sermons and one-on-one meetings. The campaign will span Dammam, Alkhobar, Al-Ahsa and Jubail.
Al-Turki said the role of his society goes hand-in-hand with the objectives of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation in finding donors and reducing transplant waiting lists.
Sheikh Khaled Abdulkarim, a legal counsel and member of the Al-Sahafa committee, reassured listeners that organ donation is permissible in Islam.
Mohammad Al-Dabbel, head of the committee, said Ethar gained approval for nine organ donation cases, adding that: “Twenty-eight organs were successfully transplanted in the process.”
Jasim Al-Yaqout, head of the committee, said the committee would hold lectures and disseminate booklets and films on the issue in a bid to maximize awareness.