JEDDAH — The Saudi Center for Organ Transplant (SCOT) warned patients of kidney failure from seeking treatment abroad without consulting the center. SCOT Director Dr. Faisal Shaheen said many patients of kidney failure travel abroad seeking transplant operations but get tricked by traders in the black market of organs. "We have already warned them against seeking treatment abroad without notifying or consulting the center. Many patients travel and come back with a kidney transplant, not recalling the names of the hospital or the doctor who performed the operation. Patients do not even recall how the operation was done," said Shaheen. He also said traders in the black market are unsupervised and unregulated and cannot held accountable. "Patients put themselves in serious health risks by not informing the center of their operations abroad. When these patients approach us for follow-up treatment, we are left with no information on how the transplant was carried out. These operations might have also been performed in unsanitary environments," said Shaheen. He added the center is ready to give consultation to people who wish to seek treatment abroad. "We gather as much information as possible from patients who are tricked by organ traders abroad and report to the World Health Organization to track the hospital and doctors who carry out such these unethical operations. Patients suffer from serious health risks after these operations and the center is willing to give them the necessary medication and treatment," said Shaheen. He said the center has a protocol to follow while harvesting organs from brain dead patients whose families agree to donate their organs. "Once the family of a brain dead patient agrees to donate the patient's organs, two consultant doctors sign the donation agreement after the family and send the agreement to the center. Within 12 to 24 hours, the center dissects the organs of the donor," said Shaheen. He also said the center has all facilities needed to transport the brain dead patient to the center from any part of the country. "The center then distributes the donated organs to various hospitals and centers depending on priority of demand. Patients who have no alternative except a transplantation for their survival are given utmost priority," said Shaheen.
