By Jacqueline Ivonne Montúfar – Regional Program Manager – LatAm
I am excited to share some great news from El Salvador. A new GeneXpert instrument has arrived and has been successfully installed at Hospital Nacional Rosales. Looking back, 2024 was a milestone year for El Salvador. On February 22nd, the hospital received its first-ever donation of 28 BCR-ABL test kits. This marks a significant achievement, as the hospital had been without access to these essential kits for over five years. This donation significantly enhances patient care and benefits those in need.
Recognizing the importance of monitoring and understanding that many patients had not been monitored in years due to the high cost of these tests at private labs, the physicians decided to take immediate action. On February 26th, they started using the kits. Out of the 214 active CML patients in the program, I am happy to report that 85% have already been monitored. These kits are also being used to diagnose new patients.
When hospitals lack essential medical equipment, the ripple effects are profound. In many cases, HCPs are forced to work under challenging conditions with limited resources. Hospital Nacional Rosales faced similar issues, operating with a single GeneXpert instrument and only one working module. As a result, the frequency of tests was limited to one or two per day, even though the necessary kits were available.
But here is more good news: on December 17th, the hospital received a new GeneXpert instrument with two modules. This new instrument will significantly improve the frequency and efficiency of testing, allowing us to ensure that no patient is left unmonitored. With this addition, we are excited about the near-term inclusion of El Salvador in the TFR program.
Thanks to these donations, we can close the gap between what is needed and what is available and ultimately diagnose and monitor early and improve healthcare outcomes. Thanks to all the team involved in this process.
The Max Foundation is a leading global health nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating health equity. For 28 years, Max has pioneered practical, scalable, high-quality solutions to bring life-extending treatments and patient-centered health care to more than 100,000 people living with cancer and critical illness in low- and middle-income countries. Max believes in a world where all people can access high-impact medicines, where geography is not destiny, and where everyone can strive for health with dignity and with hope.
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