Saudi Arabia: Over half a million people commit to posthumous organ donation
Riyadh leads with highest number of 142,000 donors, followed by Mecca with 115,000
Dubai: The Saudi Organ Transplantation Centre (SOTC) has announced that approximately 533,000 individuals in Saudi Arabia have pledged to donate their organs after death.
Riyadh leads as the city with the highest number of registered posthumous organ donors, totalling 142,000, followed by Mecca with 115,000 donors.
The Eastern Province ranks third with about 65,000 donors, while Najran has the fewest, with roughly 1,500 donors.
Despite this encouraging participation, Dr. Talal Al Qufi, head of the SOTC, pointed out that there is still a considerable challenge, as approximately 70 per cent of families interviewed reject the idea of organ donation upon a family member’s death.
To date, more than 6,000 organ transplants have been facilitated from deceased donors since the inception of the organ transplant project in Saudi Arabia.
The central region records the highest number of transplants, followed by Dammam and Jeddah.
The “Tawakkalna” platform, developed by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) in collaboration with the SOTC, has simplified the registration process for organ donation, contributing to a surge in donor numbers. In the past year alone, the total number of organs transplanted from living and deceased donors reached over 2,091, with more than 2,037 patients benefitting from these transplants.