Cardiologists at the Hospital de Valladolid have raised concerns about the plan of the Castilla y León Regional Government to create a heart transplant unit in Salamanca, which goes against scientific criteria. Other heart care specialists from different hospitals have also opposed the regional project, and the National Transplant Organization (ONT) does not see the need for this action. The ONT has warned that dividing this activity could have negative repercussions on the post-transplant outcomes for patients. Luis de la Fuente, the head of the affected program in Valladolid, attributes the initiative to political strategies and fears negative consequences for the public: “Dividing harms the patients.”
The murmurs of the past two years in the Cardiology unit of the Hospital Clínico de Valladolid were confirmed last week, first with a report in El Norte de Castilla and later confirmed by the spokesperson of the Regional Government, Carlos Fernández Carriedo. Carriedo, who is currently also in charge of Health due to the medical leave of the regular minister, Alejandro Vázquez, justified the decision as a way to “optimize resources” and strengthen them. The plan involves dividing the current heart transplant system, located in Valladolid, which according to experts is the most complex medical operation, between Valladolid and Salamanca. Carriedo emphasized the need to “add instead of divide” in order to make the transplant program more effective and efficient by utilizing all resources.
Despite the negative feedback from the national transplant authority, Carriedo claimed to always work based on scientific criteria and argued that distributing resources between the two cities would be positive and scientific. However, those affected by the decision see it as purely political and lacking a scientific basis. Luis de la Fuente, the head of the heart transplant program in Valladolid, spoke out against the decision, highlighting how dividing the transplants would be detrimental to the patients. He expressed concerns about the lack of logical reasoning behind the decision and the political motivations driving it.
The controversy over the decision to divide the heart transplants has also generated support for Valladolid from the neighboring city of León. The head of the Cardiology service in León expressed full confidence in the Valladolid team, and there have been expressions of support from various transplant groups. Despite the opposition and protests from Valladolid, they feel they have no choice but to comply with the regional government’s decision. The team in Valladolid has a track record of successful outcomes, with a high survival rate for patients undergoing heart transplants.
The responsible for transplants in Valladolid criticizes the “unbridled ambition” of the Salamanca hospital, which he attributes to the prestige that having transplant areas brings to healthcare centers. The lack of contact from the Regional Government since the controversy emerged has caused further tension between the two hospitals. The plan to divide the heart transplants without a technical rationale and the additional costs it would incur has been described as a dangerous and nonsensical move. The competitive rivalry between the two cities and the ambition for recognition through transplant programs have clouded the decision-making process, impacting the survival of patients in need of transplants.
