Associate Director of Saudi Stem Cell Donor Registry (SSCDR), WR and Chairman of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, WR Dr. Mohammad Almohammadi pointed out that the number of registered donors in Saudi Stem Cell Donor Registry has reached 72,000 national wide since established, and it is advancing in the pursuit of creating the largest database of registered donors in the region. Stem cell transplants are predominantly used for treating cancers affecting the blood or immune system like leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma. In addition, statistics has shown that 60% of children patients and 30% of adult patients do not have a proper matching donor within their families.
Dr. Almohammadi highlighted that the vision of SSCDR includes the following objectives:
- Educating the Saudi society about the importance of stem cells, its transplants, and its donations, and that’s done through societal participation educational institutes and governmental sectors in public events such as awareness campaigns.
- Making SSCDR the largest registry in the region.
- Saving the life of patients who need stem cell transplants.
- Maintaining ongoing collaboration with regional and international bodies.
It is worth mentioning that SSCDR was created in 2011 under the umbrella of King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), and since then, the registry has achieved considerable number of registration and has successfully done more than 30 stem cell transplants from registered donors. It has become of the largest national registries in the nation. Currently, SSCDR has a partnership with more than 14 participating centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.