Kidney Exchange Program Launched in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) has launched the National Kidney Exchange Program, an initiative designed to facilitate kidney exchanges between families when a donated organ from a living person is not compatible with the intended recipient.

This program is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and aims to increase the number of successful kidney transplants by enabling reciprocal kidney donations between pairs of patients and their donors.

Initially, the program will connect kidney transplant centres at King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Dammam and King Abdulaziz Medical City at the National Guard in Riyadh, all under the supervision of SCOT.

During the first phase, the program will be limited to the specified hospitals in Riyadh and Dammam, with plans to expand to all kidney transplant centres across the country in subsequent phases. SCOT is encouraging transplant programs throughout the Kingdom to join the National Kidney Exchange Program, with the aim of raising the percentage of living donors from the current 10% to 30% in the second phase.