The Ministry of Health announced on April 29 that the new National Standard for Heart Transplantation has been signed and will soon be published in the Official Gazette. The regulation will take effect according to legal timelines.
This update is intended to strengthen the National System for Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation by revising clinical, technical, and operational criteria for assigning and performing heart transplants in the country.
According to the Ministry, “its main objective is to ensure that these processes are carried out with greater transparency, safety, and equity, always under updated medical, technical, and scientific criteria.” The regulation will be mandatory for all authorized health facilities involved in donation and transplantation processes. This aims to reinforce oversight by the Ministry of Health while ensuring safer and more efficient procedures.
The Ministry said this measure reaffirms Costa Rica’s commitment to protecting the right to health, strengthening specialized medical services, and providing equitable access to complex treatments that can save lives.
In its statement, the Ministry also said it would continue promoting actions “to strengthen a culture of donation and guarantee increasingly transparent, safe, and efficient processes for the benefit of all citizens.”