Speaking to reporters after launching a campaign to enhance public awareness on the importance of protecting kidneys, he said 36.5 percent of renal failure cases in the Kingdom were caused by increase in blood sugar levels or diabetes.
“According to a report issued by the Saudi Organ Transplant Center in 2008, diabetes is the main reason for 36.5 percent of renal failure cases in the Kingdom. It was possible to save 50 percent of them from kidney failure if they had been given intensive treatment against diabetes,” he pointed out.
Prince Abdul Aziz said the last campaign focused on the role of blood pressure in causing kidney failures. “This year we are focusing on another major reason for renal failures that is diabetes. About 25 percent of the Saudi population suffer from this disease.”
The five-day campaign is organized by Prince Salman Center for Kidney Diseases in association with Prince Fahd bin Salman Charitable Society.
Prince Abdul Aziz said the society received the donation for dialysis services through SMS messages, adding that there were 191,000 people participating in the program monthly. “We are targeting to increase their number to one million,” he said. A media campaign will be launched within two months for his purpose.
Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said the government has been spending more than SR1.5 billion annually on the treatment of kidney patients. He said the number of renal failure patients in the Kingdom would increase from 11,000 to 15,000 by 2015.
He said about 500 million people around the world suffer from kidney diseases. “These figures emphasize the need for enlightening the public on kidney diseases,” the minister said.
He said the national program for comprehensive health care, which was presented to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah last September, would bring about a major shift in health-care services in the Kingdom, establishing the principle of equality and justice and improving the quality of service.
He emphasized his ministry’s efforts to improve services at centers for the treatment of renal failure patients. “Kidney patients and people suffering from other diseases including heart problems will receive comprehensive health care,” Al-Rabeeah said.
Dr. Khaled Al-Saaran, executive director of Prince Salman Center, said the campaign included free tests for early detection of kidney diseases in addition to lectures, seminars, exhibitions and pamphlets.
