KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATIONS AT ING-FAISAL-SPECIALIST-HOSPITAL-AND-RESEARCH-CENTER

During the five year period from 1987G to 1991G, 161 kidney transplant ations were performed at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC); 79 from cadaveric donors (CD) and 82 from living rel ated donors (LRD). All cadaveric kidneys except one were harvested wit hin Saudi Arabia and 67% were from Saudi nationals. The immunosuppress ive protocol was a triple drug regimen comprising cyclosporin-A (CyA), azathioprine (Aza), and prednisone. The actuarial graft survival rate s at one and three years were 85% and 76% for the cadaveric donor tran splants and 96% and 91%, respectively for the living related donor tra nsplants (P<0.01). The corresponding patient survival rates for cadave ric donor transplants (CDTxs) were 97% and 94% and for the living rela ted donor transplants (LRDTxs), 99% and 97% (NS). These results compar e well with the best results in the Western world. The most serious su rgical complications were vascular thromboses (five cases) and infecti ons of the arterial anastomosis line with bleeding (two cases), all le ading to loss of the cadaveric graft. The most common causes of death were virus infection, varicella, cytomegalovirus, and hepatitis B and C. The organ donation rate, from cadaveric donors as well as living re lated donors, is still low in Saudi Arabia. Lack of organs is the main obstacle to an expansion of this promising transplantation activity. Continuous education of the multinational medical profession as well a s the lay population is necessary to improve the situation.