RIYADH: King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) has successfully conducted 1,092 organ transplants in one year, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Monday.
KFSHRC’s Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence (OTCoE) has performed solid organ transplants, including liver, kidney, and lung transplants. In the past year, the hospital successfully carried out 1,092 transplants, including the world’s first full robotic liver transplant from a living donor, utilizing robotic technology in both the donor organ retrieval and transplant stages.
Just a few weeks ago, the OTCoE performed the world’s first full robotic heart transplant, a significant achievement that strengthens the Kingdom’s global leadership in healthcare and highlights KFSHRC’s ability to innovate in medical practices, ultimately improving patient outcomes and experiences.
As a Platinum Sponsor at the Global Health Exhibition, held in Riyadh from October 21 to 23, KFSHRC will highlight its more than four-decade-long journey in organ transplant. Since the founding of the Organ Transplant Program in 1981, the hospital has conducted approximately 9,000 successful transplants.
KFSHRC has also excelled in overcoming challenges pertaining to donor-patient compatibility in kidney transplants, through its pioneering Kidney Paired Donation (KPD) program. This program involves the simultaneous removal and transplantation of multiple kidneys, and has significantly accelerated the matching process, reduced waiting times, and enabled the hospital to perform over 5,000 kidney transplants since the center’s establishment.
OTCoE’s achievements are not limited to performing organ transplants but have also extended to the field of prevention and specialized patient care. In 2023, KFSHRC set up a specialized Vaccination Clinic for solid organ transplant recipients. In less than a year, the clinic has provided services to 150 patients.
Other notable successes of the clinic include administering the “Shingrix” vaccine to organ transplant patients, achieving a 73-percent compliance rate for the first dose, with 55 percent of patients returning for the second dose.
