Italy’s Minister of Health Visits KFSHRC to Explore Saudi Arabia’s Advancements in Specialized Medical Care

Riyadh, April 16, 2025 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) – Italy’s Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, visited King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) in Riyadh as part of an official visit to examine the Kingdom’s expertise in specialized healthcare services and learn more about Saudi Arabia’s growing leadership in medical innovation.

During the visit, Minister Schillaci received a detailed briefing on the hospital’s Heart Centre of Excellence and Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence. The tour highlighted the hospital’s integration of advanced technologies for treating complex cardiac conditions and conducting minimally invasive robotic surgeries. These procedures, which have significantly reduced patient complications and recovery time while lowering treatment costs, have placed KFSHRC at the forefront of modern healthcare delivery.

KFSHRC has achieved international recognition for several medical milestones, including performing the world’s first fully robotic heart transplant and the first fully robotic liver transplant. These accomplishments underscore the hospital’s commitment to combining clinical excellence with state-of-the-art technology, reinforcing its status as a global leader in specialized care.

The visit also emphasized the increasing global interest in KFSHRC’s healthcare model, which has earned the institution numerous accolades. The hospital ranks first in the Middle East and North Africa and 15th globally among the top 250 academic medical centers for the second consecutive year. According to the 2025 Brand Finance rankings, KFSHRC is recognized as the most valuable healthcare brand in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East. It was also named among the world’s top 250 hospitals and included in Newsweek’s list of the World's Best Smart Hospitals for 2025.

The official visit affirms ongoing international collaboration in the healthcare sector and reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to achieving world-class healthcare outcomes as part of its Vision 2030 objectives.