Safety of kidney transplant abroad not guaranteed

Safety of kidney transplant abroad not guaranteed

By ARAB NEWS
Published: May 1, 2011 00:03 Updated: May 1, 2011 00:03

TABUK: There was a time when Saudi citizens who suffered kidney failures used to go abroad to undergo kidney transplants, something that was not difficult for the affluent. However, many of those individuals were targeted by unethical doctors who would transplant incompatible or defective kidneys, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported.

Muhammad Al-Aqeeli underwent a dodgy kidney transplant in a foreign country. “After going through much physical suffering, mental strain and dialysis on a daily basis, I left the Kingdom to go abroad for a kidney transplant. I took the decision to go abroad after a relative suggested it,” he said.

“I quickly completed the procedures for travel and got an appointment with a hospital to carry out a transplant. Accordingly, I reached the hospital and spent two weeks there after the surgery. However, after the surgery I began to feel unwell because my body was not responding positively to the kidney. I immediately returned to the Kingdom and was in hospital for about five months. It was revealed in a subsequent medical checkup that the transplanted kidney was defective and inflamed,” he said.

Al-Aqeeli said the donor met him only once and that was to receive the money before the transplant. The donor also assured him that he was not part of a kidney racket. “I urge people who want to undergo kidney transplants not to go abroad; they should do transplants within the Kingdom,” said Al-Aqeeli, adding that there is a need for an intense media awareness campaign about the need to donate organs, especially kidneys, within the Kingdom.

Fawziya Al-Suwailem also went abroad to get a kidney and received a contaminated organ. Al-Suwailem suffered kidney failure due to high blood pressure, which resulted in one of her arteries getting blocked. “I underwent dialysis for about two years. Then I went abroad to get a kidney. After the surgery, I returned home but my health began to deteriorate and I started suffering from various health complications. Subsequent tests showed that this was because the kidney I received was contaminated,” she said.

“I was then forced to undergo further surgery to remove the kidney and restart dialysis,” she said, adding that people wanting to undergo kidney transplants should only take organs from close relatives.

Fatima Al-Salem recalled her daughter’s bitter experience. “My daughter had been suffering from acute vision problems since childhood. Even though she used lenses, her eyesight got worse with the passage of time. As per the advice of doctors, she underwent cornea transplant surgery in a foreign country where we had been living together with my husband who was employed there. My daughter is now suffering from acute eye problems,” she said, adding that she plans to undergo further surgery to rectify the problem.

Saleema Al-Maliki, another Saudi woman, narrated the sad story of her husband. “My husband who was a kidney patient underwent transplant surgery in another Arab country. We spent huge amounts of money on this, but all our hopes have been dashed. My husband died two days after the surgery,” she said, while urging the authorities concerned to carry out a massive awareness campaign telling people not to go abroad for transplants. Sabah said her sister was affected by hepatitis following a kidney transplant abroad. “My sister was also a victim of the kidney trade. She is now forced to travel from hospital to hospital to receive treatment for serious health complications. This has spoiled our family’s happiness,” she said.

Dr. Adnan Al-Saraawi, a prominent neurologist, marrow consultant and head of the Committee of Unrelated Donors at King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Dammam, said it is better for people to receive donors from their relatives. “There should be compatibility between the donor and the recipient in many respects, especially in blood type and tissue group,” he said.

Speaking about people who intend to donate their organs after they die, Al-Saraawi said such people are referred to the coordination committee at his hospital’s Organ Transplant Division, which completes the paperwork for the Saudi Organ Transplant Center to carry out the transplant.

He added that there are 46 people listed at his hospital who intend to donate their organs after death while there are 69 other people who wish to give their organs to relatives.

“Most of the queries that we receive from intending donors are about their anxieties with regard to health complications, possibility of death, chances of becoming infertile, permanent organ disability etc. There is a group of experts that includes consultants, psychologists and social scientists to answer such queries. They assure donors that the procedures they undergo are safe and that they are doing a service to humanity,” he said.

Al-Saraawi underlined the need for a massive awareness campaign to highlight the significance of donating organs, thus alleviating the suffering of kidney patients enabling them to lead normal healthy lives. He noted that the Organ Transplant Center under the Ministry of Health at the Dammam hospital, which was established in 2008, is considered the leading center of its kind in the Eastern Province.

Al-Saraawi said that the main objective of the center is to alleviate the suffering and ordeal of kidney patients and reduce the chances of them going abroad for transplants. “There is a fullfledged team engaged in meeting the requirements of patients who are in need of organ transplants … The center is working in conjunction with major organ transplant centers worldwide. It conducts training programs for specialists engaged in the transplant of organs such as livers, kidneys and pancreas. The center has also worked out a comprehensive data system to support patients suffering from organ failures, in addition to launching a national online network to care for such patients,” he said, adding that the chances of a successful transplant surgery are almost 100 percent.

“The success rate with regard to the posthumous transplant of kidneys and pancreas is 98.8 and 98.6 percent respectively while the chance of a successful liver transplant is 88 percent. The ideal age for the donation of organs is 18 years and above,” he said, adding that the center has plans to raise the percentage of organ transplants from 25 to 50 in the Eastern Province.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article378527.ece