RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has commended Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah and his medical staff at the King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Dammam on Friday for their outstanding achievements in the field of transplants.
His team had successfully carried out 48 kidney, two liver and four pancreas transplants without any complications or fatalities.
Recently they had also performed two liver transplants successfully. The beneficiaries were both suffering from liver failure and aged 17 and 50-years-old.
The minister pointed out that the hospital was the first facility to perform pancreas transplants in the Middle East. “This great achievement would not have been possible if it were not for the efficiency of the hospital medical staff and for the cooperation given by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, who is committed to offer the best medical services to people in the Kingdom.”
He also thanked the relatives of those who were brain dead for allowing doctors to harvest organs. “We would like to receive more organ donors to help those who are desperately in need of them.”
The Saudi Council of Senior Scholars issued a fatwa in 1982 declaring the permissibility of organ donations from living or dead people. The hospital has also run a separate oncology department since 2005.
According to the minister, the number of new cancer cases has been rising steadily over 2007 and 2008. It is estimated that there were 880 new cancer cases in 2008, an increase of 26 percent on 2007 levels. The hospital has established a Palliative Care Committee to build educational resources and manpower to help in alleviating the suffering of Eastern Province cancer patients. The committee prepares management guidelines in palliative care.
“We recognize that the Eastern Province shares with Riyadh Province the highest incidence of cancer in the Kingdom. We see this reflected in the growth of our oncology clinics and in medical referrals from outside the province,” said Chief Executive Officer of the hospital Khalid Al-Shaibani, adding hundreds of patients are on dialysis without the prospect of receiving a life-saving kidney transplant.
“We are moving forward as well in the design of our new neurosurgical operating rooms that will support our neuroscience services. Our future growth will ensure diagnosis and treatment to be administered locally and at the highest standards.
In order to transform our services to deliver 21st century tertiary health care, the Kingdom has invested in the upgrade and renovation of our aging facility to meet these goals,” he added.