Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation

What Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation does

The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (المركز السعودي لزراعة الأعضاء, SCOT) is a government national institution operating under the Saudi Health Council, headquartered in Riyadh. Established by Royal Decree in 1983 as the National Kidney Center and renamed in 1992, it is the sole statutory authority overseeing organ donation, transplantation, and related licensing across Saudi Arabia. The center supervises 31 organ transplant programs and coordinates donation operations across more than 150 donor hospitals, and it has served as the GCC reference center for organ transplantation since 2006.

Its core technology stack centers on the Athar (أثر) unified digital platform, which manages donor registration, organ allocation, donor journey tracking, and international cooperation for organ exchange. Supporting systems include the National Registry Platform for Organ Failure Patients, a brain death reporting system, facility accreditation services, and integrations with the Tawakkalna app for consumer-facing donor registration, the Etimad platform for procurement, and SDAIA/NCA for data governance and cybersecurity compliance. The center also publishes the Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation (impact factor 0.5) and the newly launched ODT journal with Karger.

SCOT's operating model is publicly funded through the Saudi state budget — 2024 approved budget was SAR 153.2M (~$40.8M USD), with near-100% utilization. All services are provided free of charge to citizens and residents; there is no commercial revenue model. Primary customer segments are organ failure patients, donors and their families, healthcare facilities operating transplant programs, healthcare practitioners requiring accreditation, and the research community. In 2024, the center coordinated more than 2,100 transplants and trained over 200 doctors on brain death diagnosis, with a national transplant rate of 59.5 per million population.

Name

Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation

Legal name

المركز السعودي لزراعة الأعضاء (Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation)

Website

https://scot.gov.sa

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation is the sole Saudi government authority coordinating organ donation, transplantation, registries, and licensing nationwide, operating the Athar digital platform across 31 transplant programs and 150+ hospitals as the GCC reference center since 2006.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Riyadh

HQ country

Saudi Arabia

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) coordinates and regulates organ donation and transplantation across Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Saudi Health Council. It supervises 31 transplant programs and 150+ donor hospitals, operates the national donor registry and organ failure patient registry, accredits transplant centers and practitioners, manages organ allocation, and publishes scientific journals. All services are delivered free of charge to citizens and residents through a unified digital platform (Athar) and direct coordination with healthcare facilities.

Product overview

The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) operates a unified platform architecture centered on the 'Athar' digital platform for organ donation and transplantation management. The portfolio includes: (1) Athar Platform - the core digital system for coordinating donation/transplantation operations with features for organ allocation, donor management, and international cooperation; (2) National Organ Failure Patient Registry Platform for healthcare facilities to register and manage patient data; (3) e-Services suite covering resident accreditation applications, awareness activity requests, data sharing requests, facility accreditation, and organ transplantation program licensing; (4) National Kidney Exchange Program enabling cross-family kidney swaps; (5) Scientific journals including the Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and the Organ Donation and Transplantation (ODT) journal; (6) Research Ethics Committee services; and (7) Data Management Office services for open data and information access. The ecosystem integrates with government services including Tawakkalna app for donation registration, Etimad platform for procurement, and SDAIA for data governance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Athar Unified Platform for Organ Donation and Transplantation (منصة أثر) A unified digital platform for managing and organizing organ donation and transplantation operations across Saudi Arabia. It enables coordination between healthcare sectors, organ allocation, donor management, and supports international cooperation for organ exchange. For patients, donors, healthcare practitioners, and hospitals.
• National Registry Platform for Organ Failure Patients (منصة السجل الوطني لمرضى الفشل العضوي) Platform enabling healthcare facilities to create accounts, register organ failure patients, and manage their data and updates within the National Organ Failure Registry. For healthcare facilities in Saudi Arabia.
• Transplant Program Licensing Service (خدمة طلب ترخيص برنامج زراعة الأعضاء) E-service enabling healthcare facilities to apply for official licensing to operate organ transplantation programs within Saudi Arabia, according to approved systems and controls. For healthcare facilities seeking transplant program accreditation.
• Brain Death Reporting Service (خدمة التبليغ عن المتوفين دماغياً) Platform service for reporting brain-dead cases and tracking the journey of recipients and donors for governance and streamlining of all organ donation operations. For healthcare practitioners and quality specialists.
• Resident Submission Accreditation Service (خدمة تقديم المقيمين) Service enabling healthcare practitioners and quality specialists to apply to become accredited residents (evaluators) at SCOT. Service is free and takes 10–15 working days.
• Data Request Service (خدمة طلب مشاركة البيانات) Data request service that defines procedures and guidelines for accessing information held by SCOT, enhancing trust and cooperation culture. For researchers and partner institutions.
• Facility Accreditation Program (برنامج اعتماد المنشآت) Facility accreditation program ensuring quality, safety, and efficiency of organ donation and transplantation services through an effective accreditation system aligned with clinical, ethical, and regulatory standards. For healthcare facilities and transplant centers.
• National Kidney Exchange Program (البرنامج الوطني لتبادل الكلى بين الأسر) National kidney exchange program enabling kidney exchange between families for people who need kidney transplants. The program finds compatible donors within a wider community circle when living donor organs do not match the patient directly. For kidney failure patients and their families.
• Scientific Research Ethics Committee (لجنة أخلاقيات البحث العلمي) Scientific Research Ethics Committee registered under H-01-R-018, under the supervision of the National Committee for Bioethics. The committee reviews research projects to ensure ethical compliance and protect research subject rights. For researchers and academics in organ failure, donation, and transplantation.
• Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation (المجلة السعودية لأمراض وزراعة الكلى) Official peer-reviewed journal affiliated with SCOT, internationally classified with an impact factor of 0.5. Publishes scientific research in kidney diseases and transplantation. For researchers, clinicians, and academics.
• Organ Donation and Transplantation (ODT) Scientific Journal (مجلة الفشل العضوي والتبرع وزراعة الأعضاء) Official journal of SCOT, published in partnership with Karger Publishers, aiming to publish scientific research in organ failure, donation, and transplantation fields. Led by Editor-in-Chief Dr. Talia Baker. For researchers, clinicians, and academics globally.
• Data Management Office Services (إدارة البيانات) Data management services including the open data office, information freedom, data sharing policies, and open data portal. Supports transparency and electronic participation objectives, established based on Royal Order No. 59766 dated 20/11/1439 AH. For the public, researchers, and partner institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,100+ total transplants performed in 2024
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UAE National Program for Donation and Transplantation (Hayat - حياة)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026Cross-border organ exchange partnership as part of GCC cooperation. Successfully coordinated organ transplants including heart transplant for a child from UAE donor, demonstrating regional healthcare integration.
• Saudi Council of Health (المجلس الصحي السعودي)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization providing governance and oversight. The center operates under the Saudi Council of Health with organizational structure approved by the council.
• Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University (جامعة الأميرة نورة)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative awareness campaign 'You Complete Life' (تكتمل بك) launched with university health education students to promote organ donation awareness.
• Vision 2030coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAligned with Saudi Vision 2030 healthcare transformation goals, focusing on healthcare quality improvement and disease prevention.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Eurotransplant: A multinational organ-sharing organization covering eight European countries. Relevant as a model for multi-country organ exchange — directly relevant to SCOT's GCC-level ambitions and current bilateral UAE partnership.
• Organización Nacional de Trasplantes (ONT, Spain): Spain's national organ transplantation authority — the global gold standard in deceased-donor transplantation (historically >40 pmp). SCOT explicitly references ONT-style coordination as a model and shares the same fundamental mandate at smaller scale and in a different cultural context.
• NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT, UK): The UK national authority managing organ donation, transplantation, and blood supply. Comparable to SCOT in operating a national donor registry and accrediting transplant centers, but with a substantially broader portfolio spanning blood, tissues, and stem cells.
• United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS, US): The US non-profit that manages the national organ transplantation system under federal contract. Operates the OPTN registry and matching algorithms — functionally analogous to SCOT's national registry and allocation role, at vastly greater scale and with broader organ-type coverage.
• Agence de la biomédecine (France): France's national agency overseeing organ, tissue, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as well as reproductive medicine and embryology. The organ transplantation division mirrors SCOT's mandate, though it operates within a much broader regulatory portfolio.

Direct peers

• UAE National Program for Donation and Transplantation (Hayat): UAE's national organ donation and transplantation program, operated under the Ministry of Health and Prevention. SCOT and Hayat are already bilateral organ-exchange partners within the GCC framework and share a structurally similar mandate to coordinate nationwide donation and transplantation.
• Saudi MoH Organ Transplantation Coordination (Türkiye reference): Türkiye operates a national organ and tissue transplantation coordination system under its Ministry of Health. Comparable to SCOT in mandate, scale of activity, and reliance on regional hospital networks, but with a much larger deceased-donor pool reflecting different cultural dynamics.
• Hamad Medical Corporation – Qatar Organ Donation Center: Qatar's national organ donation coordination body housed within Hamad Medical Corporation. It performs the same core function as SCOT — operating the national registry, accrediting transplant programs, and managing donor-recipient matching — within a fellow GCC state.

Regional players

• Kuwait Organ Transplant Society / Ministry of Health: Kuwait's national organ transplantation coordination activity sits within the Ministry of Health. As a fellow GCC state with similar population size and cultural profile, Kuwait is a structurally comparable peer and a potential future organ-exchange partner for SCOT.

Others

• WHO Department of Health Product Policy and Standards: The World Health Organization sets global standards and ethical guidance (e.g., the WHO Guiding Principles on Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation) that shape the regulatory environment in which SCOT operates. Relevant as an upstream policy and standards-setter rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scot_ksa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCW8FYkHCSqn_EIPheDJ737A
• Facebookfacebook.com/SCOT.KSA/?locale=ar_AR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scot-ksa
• Instagraminstagram.com/scot_ksa

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation