News: Organ Transplant Recognition Day

Under the patronage of His Excellency Qasim Al Qasabi, MD, FRCSI, FACS, Chief Executive Officer of King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH&RC), the opening ceremony of Organ Transplant Recognition Day took place. The event was held at the Prince Salman Auditorium in the hospital on 19 Rabi II 1433 (March 12, 2012).

The ceremony started with a documentary movie focused mainly on the role of organ transplantation and donation in saving people’s lives. Professor Dieter Broering, MD, PhD, FEBS, Director of the Organ Transplant Centre and Chairman of the Department of Surgery, gave a welcome speech to the audience, expressing his pride at being part of KFSH&RC and the organ transplant program.

He also mentioned how desperately the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia needs transplant services for livers, kidneys and lungs, and that 1,000 patients would need lung transplants in 2012. Dr. Broering talked about the number of organ transplant successes in the hospital; he also said that this success could not have occurred without the support of the administration. He emphasized the importance of maintaining the high quality of work and encouraged public and institutional education, and continued allocation and optimization of resources, especially in research.

H.E. Dr. Qasim Al Qasabi presented a speech on this special occasion; H.E. said it was my pleasure to share in the great successes in 2010-2011. Last year, Organ Transplant Program cases increased by 36 percent compared to the year 2010. “On behalf of the general organization and my colleagues, the executive management, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere appreciation and thanks to everyone who was involved: physicians, nurses, technicians, coordinators, support staff, everyone, because without you really we couldn’t have achieved this success, particularly with these excellent outcomes, comparable to the international centers,” said His Excellency. He added that he is very proud of this success and that: “I would like to give my personal congratulations to all of you on a job well done.”

At the end of the ceremony, each department director, chairman, physicians, head nurses, nurses, technicians, coordinators, and support staffers were awarded with plaques and certificates.

Then the awardees were photographed with H.E., executives, and directors.