-DATE-
19890606
-YEAR-
1989
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
CONFERENCE
-AUTHOR-
F.CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
INAUGURATION CEREMONY-ALBARRAN HOSPITAL
-PLACE-
HAVANA
-SOURCE-
HAVANA TELEVISION SVC
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19890606
-TEXT-
Speaks With Specialists

FL0606021989 Havana Television Service in Spanish 0000 GMT 6 Jun 89

[Text] Moments before the Albarran Hospital inauguration ceremony began,
our commander in chief, Fidel, routed the new hospital installations.
Fidel showed great interest in the new wings and technical conditions of
the Nephrology Institute section.  Here, Castro had a detailed conversation
with specialists and health officials.

[Begin recording] [Castro] So the, for the year 2000 we are going need 450
operations?

[Unidentified speaker] We will need 450 kidney transplants every year.

[Castro] How many are we doing now?

[Speaker] Last year we had 171 transplants.  This is to say, 17 operations
per every million people.  The need will be 40 per every million people.
Right now, we have 50 patients on dialysis per every million people and we
will have 140 per every million.  Commander, this is the way it is in all
underdeveloped countries.

[Castro] Why does the number increase?  It is because of the persons age?

[Speaker] It does up because as we solve other health problems, such as
infectious diseases--like we do now with cardiac diseases which make up the
basis part of the national health....

[Castro], interrupting] Why, with the population of 10 million people, do
we now have, how many cases did you say?

[Speaker] We have 386 cases.

[Castro] We have 386 cases.  Why will we have 1,500 cases when our
population reaches 11 million?

[Speaker] For the following reason:  first, out plan is limited by age.
Initially, our limit was 45 years, then it was 50 years, and now we have
increased it up to 60 years.

[Castro] You mean that from 45 years of age on you did not do transplants?

[Speaker] We did not to dialysis or transplants.

[Castro] Why didn't you do dialysis?

[Speaker] We did not do them because of capacity limitations.

[Castro] How many people need it every day?

[Speaker] If we were to diagnose all patients, we would have 600 people
every year.  They would need transplants.

[Castro] You mean that there is a certain number of people who need
dialysis treatment and are not receiving it?

[Speaker] They are not receiving it.  This is due to two factors:  first,
the number we can cover and....

[Castro, interrupting] What would we need to handle all of this?

[Speaker] We would need to develop a network of dialysis systems in the
country.

[Castro] Didn't you just tell me that we have 23 of them in the country?
Is that no enough?

[Speaker] It is not enough.

[Castro] How many would we need?

[Speaker] We have, not in centers but in artificial kidneys, about 80
working at the moment.

[Castro] How many would you need?

[Speaker] We would need a network of about 300 of them. [end recording]
-END-