Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation revealed that the number of people wishing to donate their organs after death reaches about 533,000 donors in all of Saudi Arabia. This aims to save the lives of other patients, end their health suffering, and give them hope for new opportunities for life.

The center also encouraged intensified awareness and interest in the idea of increasing donations, as well as facilitating equitable access to organ transplantation services, while seeking to ensure improved quality of life for a larger number of patients.

The Saudi capital, Riyadh, topped the list in terms of the number of people wishing to donate organs after death, with about 142,000 donors, while Makkah came in second place with about 115,000 donors.

The Eastern Province ranked third in Saudi Arabia in terms of donors, with the number of those wishing to donate after death estimated at 65,000 donors, while Najran had the least number of those wishing to donate, at about 1,500 donors.

The head of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation, Dr. Talal Al-Goufi, revealed to Al-Arabiya that there is a significant possibility that some families will reject the concept of organ donation once one of their members dies, with the percentage of refusing families among those interviewed by the medical team reaching 70% of the total cases.

Since the start of the organ transplantation project in Saudi Arabia until the end of 2023, the total number of organs transplanted to the beneficiaries of deceased donors has reached more than 6,000, according to Dr. Al-Goufi.

He indicated that the central region has achieved the highest level of organ transplantation in Saudi Arabia, followed by Dammam and Jeddah. He also explained that private medical services in organ transplantation are progressing in all regions of the country, which number 26 centers.

The total number of organs transplanted from both living and deceased donors last year amounted to more than 2,091 organs, while the number of patients transplanted from living and deceased donors in 2023 reached more than 2,037. The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation was able to transplant more than 1,662 organs from living donors.

The center also supports scientific research and development programs to achieve advancements in the field of organ donation and transplantation, both regionally and globally.