KSA fourth globally in organ transplantation

Saudi Arabia has achieved several milestones in the field of organ transplantation and is fourth in the world as far as facilities and procedures are concerned, a health official has said.
Dr. Faisal Shaheen, director general of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT), said that SCOT is currently witnessing quantitative development in terms of the number of procedures conducted per year and expansions in the types of transplants.
“The number of kidney transplants in the Kingdom has increased from 150 procedures per year during the eighties to over 600 procedures per year now,” he said.
“Liver transplants have increased from 30 to 50 procedures annually,” said Shaheen, adding that heart transplant operations have increased to more than 30 procedures annually.
Speaking at a ceremony held recently to honor organ donors in the Eastern Province, Shaheen said that organ transplant programs in the Kingdom has passed through several stages of growth.
“Under the directions of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, the National Center for Kidneys was established as a first step toward the development of a unified project that takes care of kidney failure patients and deals with transplants,” he said.
Previously, patients were sent abroad for organ transplant operations, but the same is being done domestically, he added.