Helping hands for kidney failure patientsP.K. Abdul Ghafour | Arab News
JEDDAH: Renal failure patients will receive financial aid of SR10,000 each from the government, said Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, supervisor of the Prince Fahd bin Salman Charitable Society for the Care of Kidney Patients, adding that 6,600 university seats have been allocated for their children.
He emphasized the importance of promoting voluntary work in order to help charitable organizations enhance their funds. “Charities should depend mainly on voluntary services instead of depending on paid workers,” he said while attending a seminar organized by Al-Madinah Arabic daily.
He said his organization would not use a single riyal received through donations to meet operational and administrative expenditures. “No charitable work would be successful without the spirit of volunteerism.”
Prince Abdul Aziz, who is assistant minister of petroleum and mineral resources for petroleum affairs, put the rate of deaths among the Kingdom’s kidney patients at 11 percent, which is two percent more than the rates in developed countries.
He said the society had spent SR1.8 million on a single renal failure patient. These costs are covered by donations. The society has signed agreements with telecom companies to send SMS messages to generate donations. “There are millions of subscribers for Saudi Telecom Company. If we receive the support of a million subscribers, we can raise about SR144 million annually, which is enough to treat 1,200 patients.”
He said the efforts by private charities would reduce the burden of the government as well as the Health Ministry. About 10,000 people have agreed to donate their kidneys after death as a result of the society’s awareness campaign, which was carried out with the support of university students.
He urged prayer leaders at mosques to encourage the public to donate to charities. “The main reason for 50 percent kidney failures are blood pressure and diabetes,” he said quoting a study.
Prince Abdul Aziz said his organization does not differentiate between Saudis and expatriates or followers of different religions. “Some scholars insist that Zakat should be spent on Muslims only. But we extend our services on the basis of the Qur’anic verse that ’If any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the mankind,’” he said. There are about 10,000 kidney-failure patients in the Kingdom who receive treatment at over 175 health centers equipped with 2,818 dialysis machines. Besides organizations like the Prince Fahd Charity, the Saudi government helps needy patients and donors, and has announced incentives for live donors who will get SR50,000 in cash, the King Abdul Aziz Medal of the Third Order and life-long discounted tickets on Saudi Arabian Airlines.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=126514&d=18&m=9&y=2009&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom
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