Saudi Arabia launches National Kidney Exchange Program between families

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RIYADH — The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) launched on Wednesday the National Kidney Exchange Program between families.

Under the program, kidneys will be exchanged between families for people who need kidney transplants, so that organs are exchanged between two or more families in the event that the donated organ from a living person does not match that of the patient.

The program enables reciprocal kidney transplant between a pair of patients and their donors for the first time in the Kingdom, between families at King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Dammam, and King Abdulaziz Medical City at the National Guard in Riyadh, under the supervision of the SCOT.

The program aims to increase the number of living donors and overcome the problem of blood and tissue incompatibility between the donor and the patient. It also aims to provide greater opportunities for the registered kidney failure cases on the waiting lists for kidney transplantation, and that is in line with the objectives of the Health Sector Transformation Program to achieve the Kingdom’s 2030 goals.

In its first phase, the exchange program will cover kidney transplant centers at King Abdulaziz Medical City of the National Guard in Riyadh, and King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Dammam, followed by all kidney transplant centers in various regions of the Kingdom.

The center called on all kidney transplant programs in the Kingdom to participate in the National Kidney Exchange Program between families so as to achieve the program’s goal of increasing the percentage of living donors from 10 percent to 30 percent in the second phase.

The program comes within the efforts of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation to enhance organ transplantation efforts in the Kingdom within its strategic plan to achieve maximum benefit from each donation, provide effective transplant services, and facilitate access to health services for citizens and residents.