Renal Transplantation in the Gulf Co-operation Council Countries

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) which has six member-countries was established in 1981 to promote mutual co-operation on various aspects including health care. Efforts are ongoing to have active co-ordination among the member-countries in the field of organ transplantation. Islamic scholars in these countries have approved organ donation from living related and cadaveric donors after obtaining consent from the families concerned. This has paved the way for the implementation of successful renal transplantation programs in many of the GCC countries. The results of the operations performed locally in these countries are encouraging and similar. However, the demand for organs is still high and only 30% of the need is being met at present. Commercial organ donation is strictly prohibited in all these countries. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT), erstwhile National Kidney Foundation, was established in 1985. The main objective was to coordinate organ transplantation program in the Kingdom and in the last ten years, the center has gathered remarkable experience in this field. Other GCC countries need to establish cadaveric renal transplantation programs in their countries on similar lines as SCOT.