Prince Fahd bin Salman Charity Association for Renal Failure Patients Care said on Saturday the association has spent more than SR234 million for all renal failure patients enrolled in the hemodialysis program that has been launched in 1428 AH.
Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, supervisor of the association, said: “The association pays for the treatment of renal failure patients to medical centers and hospitals on behalf of the donors and in collaboration with the National Company for Cooperative Insurance.
“However, the annual cost of the treatment sessions for one dialysis patient is estimated at SR115,000, including intravenous drug, periodic examinations and urgent medical treatments in addition to the costs of transportation services to and from the medical center and the costs of kidney transplant surgeries.”
Saudi Arabia has been classified as the fourth country in the world with regards to kidney transplant requirements in 2013, with nearly 14,000 patients on the waiting list for a kidney transplant as opposed to around 120 to 130 donors available, while there is only a 36 percent chance of finding matching donors.
Cases of brain death registered in courts only account for 60 percent of the actual number of available donors. Donation rates would increase dramatically if members of the public were made aware that such an initiative could save a life.
There is a need for 1,200 kidneys, while there are 500 patients waiting for heart transplants, 700 for liver transplants, 500 for pancreas replacements and 500 for lung transplants every year in the Kingdom.
Dr. Abdullah Shuaib, a Saudi kidney specialist working in private hospital, said: “The Saudi private and public hospital expanded its medical departments to enclose the kidney disease.