Saudi Arabia Launches National Kidney Exchange Program

Riyadh, The Gulf Observer: The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) announced the launch of the National Kidney Exchange Program on Wednesday, marking a significant step forward in the Kingdom’s organ transplantation efforts. This pioneering program facilitates the exchange of kidneys between families, offering a solution for patients whose donated organs from living relatives do not match due to blood or tissue incompatibility.

For the first time in Saudi Arabia, the program enables reciprocal kidney transplants between pairs of patients and their donors at King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Dammam and King Abdulaziz Medical City at the National Guard in Riyadh, under the supervision of SCOT.

The initiative aims to increase the number of living donors and address the challenge of donor-patient incompatibility, thereby providing more opportunities for those on the waiting lists for kidney transplants. This aligns with the broader objectives of the Health Sector Transformation Program, which is a key component of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals.

In its initial phase, the program will be implemented at the kidney transplant centers at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh and King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Dammam. The program is expected to expand to all kidney transplant centers across the Kingdom in subsequent phases.

SCOT has called on all kidney transplant centers in the Kingdom to participate in the National Kidney Exchange Program, with the goal of increasing the percentage of living donors from 10% to 30% in the program’s second phase.

This initiative is part of SCOT’s broader strategic plan to maximize the benefits of organ donations, enhance the effectiveness of transplant services, and improve access to healthcare services for both citizens and residents in Saudi Arabia.