Every year, millions of Umrah pilgrims enter Saudi Arabia and some of them are very sick and sometimes kidney patients who need to perform dialysis in Saudi Arabia. Recently, a friend of mine asked me the procedure her father will have to go through to do dialysis in Makkah and Madina as he was coming on an Umrah visa.

1. Medical Reports and a Letter from the doctor

If you are a dialysis patient, make sure while coming to perform Umrah you bring all your reports from your home country and a letter from your doctor addressing the doctors in Saudi Arabia about the treatment you have been taking. It would facilitate you while explaining your medical condition to the doctors.

You also need test results for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV. You must have these test results in order to receive serology treatment or else the patient will receive non-serology treatment.

2. Locate the Hospital

The next thing an Umrah pilgrim needs to do to perform dialysis is to locate a hospital that has this facility. We have given map locations of the nearest hospital in Makkah and Madina with the dialysis facility where you can go. The taxi driver normally charges around SR 15 to Sr 20 to reach there.

• Dialysis Center of King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Makkah: https://goo.gl/maps/wMLwqsYzZMHLz84r7
• Medical Rehabilitation Hospital in Madinah: https://goo.gl/maps/kTiKPAUNVC2nR7NZA
• King Fahd Hospital in Madina: https://goo.gl/maps/LgzMWrDNpm43ouq5A

3. Admission Process

The next thing you need to do to perform dialysis on an Umrah visa is to contact the emergency department of any of these hospitals.

Reception 1 – The main reception is in the emergency Dept, here they will review your medical reports and Hajj or Umrah Visa. You will be issued with a slip and all your paperwork will be returned to you. Make sure you bring the following documents with you;

• Medical Report from your dialysis center
• Letter from your doctor
• Original Passport
• Copies of Passport and Umrah visa
• HIV and Hepatitis test results

Reception 2 (Dialysis Centre) – Here you will submit the slip supplied by Reception 1 and all your reports. They will register you and return all your documents and issue you with a new slip. Now you will be asked to wait, males will wait outside and females at their allocated room. Before going to the waiting area, it is advised that you attend the weighing room. They will take your weight, temp, BP, etc. They will require these results before they start dialysis.

4. The cost to perform dialysis on Umrah visa

The Saudi government provides all the treatment to Umrah pilgrims without charging any fee irrespective of the treatment. Therefore, dialysis is performed for Umrah pilgrims free of cost. Moreover, the staff at the hospitals is also very cooperative as they treat you as the guests of Allah.

5. Next Appointment

Before leaving the hospital after the dialysis, an Umrah pilgrim must ask the doctor to give you the next appointment for dialysis. It can also be done through Reception 2 explained above. They will give you an appointment according to your condition. If you have that appointment, you will not have to go to the emergency department over and again as they will immediately start your dialysis.

6. Useful Tips for Dialysis as an Umrah Pilgrims

• All the doctors and nurses speak English and Arabic, so you don’t need to worry about it.
• The hospital remains very cold, it is better if you bring a jacket or blanket with you.