His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah visited the Saudi patients hospitalized at the Children's National Medical Center, where HE got reassured about their health and the quality of the services provided to them. HE also conveyed the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, and His Crown Prince’s greetings and best wishes for a speedy recovery. In addition, Dr. Al Rabeeah visited two Saudi children suffering from complex congenital defects, and receiving treatment at the Hospital. He also met their parents, reassured them and wished them a quick return home.
The Children's National Medical Center in Washington, founded in 1870, is an internationally recognized center in the fields of pediatric health care and medical research. It provides clinical care for children and their families around the world. It is estimated that more than 500 heart surgeries are performed each year under the supervision of the best pediatric cardiac surgeons.
The number of Saudi patients sent abroad for treatment in 2010 reached 870, out of which 56% received treatment at US hospitals, 28% in Germany and Europe, 9% in Britain, 6% in China and 1% in Singapore.
Most cases are Internal Medicine cases, making up 28%, followed by cancerous tumors: 27%. Moreover, organ transplantation patients had a large share in spite of the difficulties of obtaining organs legally in many countries of the world, as the Ministry is working tirelessly to make deals with international medical centers that legally perform organ transplantation surgeries. It should be noted in this respect that 47 patients have been sent for liver transplantation, 29 for bone marrow transplantation, 26 for kidney transplantation, 19 for heart–lung transplantation, and 5 for intestinal transplantation.