Organ transplantation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The first organ to be transplanted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was a live related kidney transplant in 1979. Over the last 16 years 1822 kidneys, 94 livers, 53 hearts, 5 lungs, 2 pancreas, over 120 bone marrows and 5925 corneas were transplanted. Over the same period of time cadaveric organ donation was instituted through the establishment of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation. Now there are 11 renal transplant centers, 4 liver transplant centers, 3 cardiac/lung transplant centers, 2 bone marrow transplant centers and 8 cornea transplant centers. The results in those organ transplantation programs are quite satisfactory. This article describes some historical milestone and background and describes briefly various organ transplant activities.