Recife, June 24, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Minister of Health, Humberto Costa, in a visit to the Bone Marrow Transplant Center of the Portuguese Hospital, Monday (23), declared that the government intends to stimulate the expansion of transplant policy services throughout the country. According to Costa, the plan is to eliminate waiting lines for tissue transplants in two years and organ transplants, in four years. He said that, to expedite the plan, it is necessary to have more beds in hospital units and to create a culture that stimulates the population to donate organs.

The Minister informed that an emergency service will be implanted in 232 municipalities, to make organ reception easier, and that discussions are underway to produce medications, possibly in the form of generic drugs, for organ recipients.

When asked about the year-long price freeze on one thousand remedies used in the treatment of chronic ailments, the Minister said that this information is not official and only serves for laboratories to raise prices. According to Costa, between now and the end of the month, the federal government will present a proposal to regulate drug prices, based on a reduction in federal taxes.

The Bone Marrow Transplant Center of the Portuguese Hospital treats cases of leukemia, lymphangioma, and myeloma and has already carried out 120 transplants in patients from the North and Northeast regions, since its inauguration three years ago. (DAS)