Organ Transplantation in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Organ transplantation started in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in 1979 with a kidney transplanted from a live donor. The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation has been established in 1985 as a governmental agency that supervises all national transplant activities in the KSA. Organ transplantation in the KSA has made great strides since 1985. Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation is playing a central role in all aspects of transplantation including education on all levels, allocation, coordination and procurement. A new initiative has started an ambitious program in 2014 to improve the identification and reporting of organ donors aiming at an annual rate of 15 donors per million populations within 3 years in the KSA.