RIYADH: The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC) in Riyadh registered a record 152 kidney transplants last year, said Dr. Qasim Al-Qasabi, its chief executive officer.
“A total of 96 kidneys were harvested from living relative donors, while 56 kidneys were from dead donors from transplantation centers all over the Kingdom,” he said.
Al-Qasabi said the Saudi Kidney and Pancreatic Transplantations Program is the only program recognized by the American Organs Transplantation Society outside North America for the fellowship training of physicians and the granting of certificates.
He said this distinction was due to the availability of highly qualified skilled medical, nursing and technical teams in addition to excellent hospital infrastructure.
“The number of kidney transplants that achieved last year were for patients aged between two and 79 years old,” said Dr. Khaled Al-Mishari, director of the transplantation program.
He recalled that 22 kidneys were transplanted on child patients with a 91 percent success rate, while 130 on adults with a 100 percent success rate.
Al-Mishari said the program was established in 1981 and has until the end of the 2008 undertaken 1,554 kidney transplants with a success rate matching reputable international organ transplantation centers.
