Better chance for an organ transplant here

Patients in the Balearics have a greater possibility than elsewhere in Spain for undergoing a kidney, liver, lung or heart transplant, according to a report which also says that the number of donors is higher than the national average. Details of the report were revealed yesterday by Aina Salom, the Balearic health minister, who said that her department was studying the possibility of setting up a heart and liver transplant unit in Son Dureta so that patients would not have to travel to the Peninsula. Pere Marsé, who co-ordinates transplants, said that last year all the Balearic patients who needed heart transplants underwent surgery, compared to 70 per cent for the rest of Spain. He also said that 63 per cent of liver transplant patients received a new organ compared to the national average of 55 per cent.