DAMMAM: About 80 Saudis were found to have benefited from illegal kidney transplants from donors from Egypt, China and Pakistan during 2015. This has been revealed by Dr. Faisal Shahin, head of the Saudi Center for Organ Donation.
Dr. Shahin stressed that people should be made aware of the dangers of this practice thriving in some countries which could lead to a range of serious problems such as kidney failure.
He said that “trade gangs” have played a major role in this, acting as intermediaries for hospitals that carry out operations illegally with donors wooed from poor neighborhoods.
Dr. Shahin said the problem is that most of the people who are involved in illegal dealings have serious psychological problems. The agents find it relatively easy to encourage them to donate their organs by offering them huge sums of money.
He explained that kidney patients are always looking for donations. He pointed out that the price of a kidney was SR20,000 earlier, but now varies between SR150,000 and SR300,000. “In fact, the intermediary tells the donor a figure that is far lower than what he should getting so that the agent, his gang and the hospital can steal the maximum amount.”
He added that the Saudi Center for Organ Donation warns patients that 60 percent of transplants conducted in this manner result in failure, in comparison to near 99 percent success rate of such procedures in Saudi Arabia.
With regard to the legal aspects of the procedure, Dr. Shahin said Saudi Arabia doesn't apply the laws used in some European countries, which prohibit medical facilities from conducting transplants on patients if it is proved that the kidney was obtained through illegal means.
Dr. Shahin stressed that people should be made aware of the dangers of this practice thriving in some countries which could lead to a range of serious problems such as kidney failure.
He said that “trade gangs” have played a major role in this, acting as intermediaries for hospitals that carry out operations illegally with donors wooed from poor neighborhoods.
Dr. Shahin said the problem is that most of the people who are involved in illegal dealings have serious psychological problems. The agents find it relatively easy to encourage them to donate their organs by offering them huge sums of money.
He explained that kidney patients are always looking for donations. He pointed out that the price of a kidney was SR20,000 earlier, but now varies between SR150,000 and SR300,000. “In fact, the intermediary tells the donor a figure that is far lower than what he should getting so that the agent, his gang and the hospital can steal the maximum amount.”
He added that the Saudi Center for Organ Donation warns patients that 60 percent of transplants conducted in this manner result in failure, in comparison to near 99 percent success rate of such procedures in Saudi Arabia.
With regard to the legal aspects of the procedure, Dr. Shahin said Saudi Arabia doesn't apply the laws used in some European countries, which prohibit medical facilities from conducting transplants on patients if it is proved that the kidney was obtained through illegal means.
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