A significant step in creating public awareness on the merits of organ donation and transplantation has been achieved with the formal establishment here of the Saudi Society for Activation of Organ Donation and Transplantation. The society is a private organization composed of leading businessmen, medical professionals in the field of organ transplantation, and philanthropists. Its objectives, in addition to its primary goal of creating awareness of the subject, are to raise funds and support government programs on organ donation and transplantation. Sheikh Abdulaziz A. Al-Turki, a leading businessman and philanthropist who spearheaded the organization of the society, is the elected chairman and president of the society. He is also the founder and current chairman and president of two private charitable organizations – the Saudi Cancer Foundation (SCF) and the Saudi Diabetes and Endocrine Association (SDEA). The establishment of the society took into consideration many concerns of the public regarding organ donation, including the reluctance of many citizens to participate in transplant programs involving deceased donors, although this has been ruled to be in compliance with Saudi cultural traditions and religious obligations. During the meeting last year when the society was being set up, Sheikh Al-Turki emphatically stressed that the objective in establishing the society was to create public awareness that organ donation concerns everyone in the Kingdom. ? He also convened a meeting of local and international experts working in organ donation and transplantation to solicit their opinion. Among those who attended that meeting were Dr. Faisal Shaheen, Director of the Saudi Center for Organs Transplant (SCOT); Dr. Nigel Heaton, Consultant Surgeon and Professor of Transplant Surgery and Director of the Liver and Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Unit Kings College Hospital in London, UK; Dr. Mohamed Rela, Consultant Liver Transplant and HPB Surgeon Kings College Hospital in London, UK; and Dr. Fouad Beydoun, President and CEO of the International Association for Organ Donation and Co-Chairman of Harper University Hospital Detroit Medical Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, USA.? These experts supported and endorsed the formation of the Saudi Society for Activation of Organ Donation and Transplantation. Dr. Shaheen, Director of SCOT, said that organ donation is not making many inroads in the Kingdom despite the concerted drive involving organizations in the medical field, as well as non-governmental organizations. During the meeting he cited, as an example, that although the Kingdom has been a leader in kidney transplantation, much still needs to be done to help those who are on waiting lists. He said that there are over 11,000 patients on kidney dialysis who are ready for transplantation but are still waiting for suitable organ donations, and that this number will increase to 15,000 by the year 2015.? The international experts who attended the meeting expressed confidence that Saudi Arabia, with its resources, will become a model for organ donation and transplantation in the region. They emphasized the importance of conducting a public information drive in order to reach out to every citizen. The experts also stressed that the acceptance of the Islamic world of the concept of organ donation and transplantation will benefit many citizens through the establishment of the Saudi Society for Activation of Organ Donation and Transplantation. Emad Al-Gussaini, the administrative manager of the society, said that a comprehensive information campaign on organ donation is now being prepared. Cooperation with other charitable societies and public agencies will be undertaken to ensure the success of the drive which will be focused on the value and importance of donating human organs, he said.
