FILLING A GAP: Website developer Hattan Turki says thedonor.net facilitates “seamless” coordination between kidney patients and prospective organ donors. (AN photo)

JEDDAH: A new Saudi website has been launched to serve as an online portal for information and a platform for coordination between kidney donors and potential recipients.

Hattan Turki, executive director and developer of thedonor.net, said the normal process of matching donors and patients has been a long and complicated one.

“We have developed this site and other means of communication and registration in order to facilitate seamless coordination between donors and recipients to make the matching process easier,” he said.

“This is a public service initiative. By going online, we also hope to reach a greater number of people, and hopefully benefit more patients in the long run,” he added.

Site preparation took three months and advanced communication means owned by a Saudi website developer can be easily used in various hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

“In the first phase, the site aims to expand organ donation activity in Saudi Arabia. In later stages it aims to target more countries around the world. The site is easy to use and informative without causing any kind of fear,” Turki added.

Seifallah Sharbatly, director-general of thedonor.net, said: “We realized the importance of such a project some time ago and worked to implement it. Now, we have launched the first website of its kind in the world and hope it would contribute to increase the number of kidney donors in Saudi Arabia where donation rate among relatives is very high compared to other countries.”

According to the project’s guidelines, a patient needs to register his name and his blood type in addition to other information in the site’s online registration page. After registration, a project staff member will contact them to confirm the registration and to complete their data.

Dr. Faisal Shaheen, chairman of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation, expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Health for its support for a law legalizing organ barter. The scheme has led to greater chances of a kidney patient finding a donor outside his or her family.

“We appreciate the initiative of the Saudi group who designed this pioneering website and other communication means to serve as a forum for exchange of information between kidney donors and their recipients. This will lead to better coordination and matching of donors and their beneficiaries,” he said.