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The Cardiac Center at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC) in Riyadh was able to transplant 35 hearts, including 7 for children under 14 years of age during the last year 2017. The aggregate success rate was 87%, comparable to the average results of around 250 heart centers in North America and some of the finest Centers in Europe.

Dr. Jehad Al Buraiki, Consultant and Director of Heart Center KFSH&RC- Riyadh explained that per statistics of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, KFSH&RC entered the list of top 10% of the world’s heart centers in the number of the annual transplant surgeries. KFSH&RC, he said, was ranked 27, ahead of long experience centers, compared to more than 137 world centers specialized in heart transplants in the United States.

Dr. Al Buraiki said that the last year witnessed transplantation of 7 hearts for children whose health condition varied between cardiomyopathy and weakness resulting from repair of congenital cardiac defects and cardiac rheumatology cases.

He stated that the last year, compared to 2016, witnessed a 40% increase in the implantation of artificial heart supporting pumps, which functions as (a bridge for heart transplantation surgeries). Utilizing state-of-the-art international technologies (HEART MATE 3), 14 artificial pumps were implanted for cases that could not wait until the availability of a brain dead donor.

Dr. Al Buraiki added that the Heart Transplant Program at KFSH&RC comprised a follow up team that conducted internationally approved periodic tests for individuals with artificial heart supporting pumps. The team is currently following up 9 cases in their locations in different areas of the Kingdom, through the Health Outreach Services Sector in the hospital. KFSH&RC, he said, holds, for the medical teams in their locations, periodic and specialized training courses on how to deal with difficulties that could encounter patients who underwent surgeries for artificial supporting pumps in their places of residence. Dr. Al Buraiki clarified that 15% of the total transplantation surgeries were carried out in 2017 for patients who underwent artificial pump implantation.

Dr. Al Buraiki confirmed that such excellent results would not have been achieved without the efforts of the medical, nursing and technical teams of the Heart Center. These teams are supported by an integrated infrastructure, such as developed surgical rooms, cardiac surgery intensive care units as well as other tertiary sophisticated services required for such programs and surgeries. He indicated that the accumulative total number of cardiac transplantation surgeries at KFSH&RC reached 302 since the program has started in 1989 and until the end of the year 2017.