Date : 14/04/2003
Donation of human body organs from Kuwait to Saudi Arabia
By Zaid Al-Sarbal
RIYADH, April 14 (KUNA) -- General Director of Saudi Arabia's Organ
Transplant Centre Dr. Faisal Shaheen announced here Monday that the centre
received nine organ donors deom Kuwait, out of 41 approved cases in 2002.
In the Centre's monthly newsletter, Dr. Shaheen said that the centre
received 10 cases, nine of which were from Kuwait and one from Qatar, within
framework of the Gulf Cooperation Council program for organ donation.
Dr. Shaheen added that the number of clinically dead patients notified to
the centre in 2002 reached 337 and 208 of which were specified as clinically
dead.
"The centre obtained the approval of 41 cases of organ donors while
families rejection to donate the organs of their clinically dead relatives
patients formed 75 percent of the 177 diagnosed cases." Dr. Shaheen said.
Clinically dead patients provided 57 kidney transplants that were performed
in Saudi Arabia, 10 liver transplants, two hearts transplants while 17 hearts
where the source of heart valves.
Dr. Shaheen added that only 16 local corneas were transplanted in Saudi
Arabia while the rest are from abroad.
Meanwhile, King Faisal Hospital in Riyadh conducted 16 liver transplant
operations since the start of the liver transplant programme two years ago,
two of these operations were from living donors.
Success rate of these operation reached 95 percent which asserts the
quality and success of Saudi Arabia hospital.
There are more than 100 patients in Saudi Arabia in need of liver
transplant annually with only 25 patients actually have the transplant. (end)
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