[dailyarchive/2004_11/exchange_rates.htm]
Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, November 19, 2004
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| BIG mess: Trash mounds grow below a sign that reads “Trash Disposal Prohibited,” in Tibás, where the lack of trash collection is becoming a public health issue, according to the Ministry of Public Health. |
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Woman Donates
Kidney to Stranger
Having only heard the name – Carlos Sánchez – and of his need for a kidney transplant through a mutual friend, Katia Brenes, 22, decided to donate hers if it was compatible.
(Click for more)
Trade Minister Stresses
Need for Economic Unity
In a speech to international business leaders assembled for the Business Roundtable of the 14 th Latin American-Iberian Summit, Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Minister Manuel González emphasized the need for economic unity in Central America and said Costa Rica is trying to establish itself as a commercial force.
(Click for more)
Trash Piles Up in Tibás,
Health Ministry Files Charges
The Ministry of Public Health filed a complaint yesterday with the Prosecutor's Office against the Municipality of Tibás, north of San José, for failing to collect more than 500 metric tons of trash that have been piling up on city streets for weeks.
(Click for more)
November 19
Walk to Guararí Look Out
A trip organized by the Organization for Tropical Studies, participants depart at 7 a.m. Sunday, in front of San Pedro Church, east of San José . Info: 524-0625, 377-6169.
Walk and Run against Violence
The public is invited to participate on Sunday in a walk/run to celebrate Women's Life. The walk, two laps around La Sabana Park, is 9 km. Registration is Sunday, 7:45-8:30 a.m. , next to Gimnasio #3, La Sabana Park. The race begins at 9 a.m. and there is no registration fee.
Musical “Rock 'n' Roll”
Students of the Castella Conservatory, as well as a group called “Amigos del Castella” (most of them former students of the institution) will perform a classic rock musical Sunday at 4 p.m. at Teatro Castella, 25 m. east of Datsun Car Agency, North Sabana Park.
Edited By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net
Woman Donates
Kidney to Stranger
By Robert Goodier
Tico Times Staff
rgoodier@ticotimes.net
Having only heard the name – Carlos Sánchez – and of his need for a kidney transplant through a mutual friend, Katia Brenes, 22, decided to donate hers if it was compatible.
The day after hearing about Sánchez, 21, for the first time, Brenes met him and the two underwent tests to determine they were compatible for an organ donation. They received news of their compatibility Nov. 5, and the two went into surgery Wednesday morning.
They are now recovering and so far there have been no health complications, according to Dr. José Francisco Mora, part of the surgical team at the Calderón Guardia Hospital that performed the operation.
Out of gratitude for Brenes' gift, Sánchez' sister, Rosibel, 22, told doctors she would donate a kidney to one of the 120 patients waiting for transplants in national hospitals. The donation of Rosibel's organ could take place within three months, Mora said.
People can lead normal, healthy lives with one kidney, he said, and women who have donated their organs can safely have several pregnancies. In his experience, however, the donation of a kidney to someone who is not related to the donor is extremely rare. The doctor said 65% of kidneys transplanted are taken posthumously, 35% from living donors, and of those, only 5% are donated to people who are not part of the donor's family.
“It was an act of love and courage,” he said of Brenes' decision.
Carlos Sánchez, who was unavailable for comment, was diagnosed with a hereditary, congenital kidney disorder when he was 2, according to the daily Al Día. Early this year his condition deteriorated dramatically.
“I began to develop a cough, loss of appetite, I had problems walking, and Easter Sunday (April 11) I felt a sharp pain,” he told Al Día. “I went to the Cartago Hospital and they told me I needed have my body cleaned artificially.”
He was hooked up to a dialysis machine to draw out his blood, clean it, and replace it in his veins. Since then he has undergone that treatment three times per week, but doctors said he urgently needed a transplant.
“It hurt her to hear about the problem,” Katia Brenes' employer, Rosa María Brenes (no relation) told The Tico Times. “Without a second thought (Katia) decided (to donate a kidney).”
The two work together as maids in Cartago, east of San José .
Katia appeared “very happy” before she left for the Hospital Calderón Guardia, Rosa María said.
Though her employer is worried Katia might have naively entered into the operation, Katia herself said she has felt like the decision was divinely inspired.
“I believe God put this opportunity before us and I want to do it,” she told The Tico Times from the hospital the night before the operation. She was not scared or flustered, she said, because “it's not the doctors who will operate on us, it will be God who does the operation.”
Doctors perform about eight to 10 kidney transplants per month in Costa Rica , according to statistics from the Social Security System (Caja). Nearly 400 have taken place in Calderón Guardia, where an average of two transplants per month take place.
Trade Minister Stresses
Need for Economic Unity
By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff
kstanley@ticotimes.net
In a speech to international business leaders assembled for the Business Roundtable of the 14 th Latin American-Iberian Summit, Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Minister Manuel González emphasized the need for economic unity in Central America and said Costa Rica is trying to establish itself as a commercial force.
“We want to put the country on the world map, not just in its traditional role as a protector of human rights and peace, but also in a commercial sense,” González said.
“The world isn't round or square,” he said. “It's a piece of paper listing each country and what it can offer (in terms of trade). Making it onto that list is our goal.”
González gave his audience a general overview of the challenges and opportunities facing the Costa Rican market. He said cooperation between Central American nations is one of the keys to progress.
He added that he and his counterparts in other Central American countries have been working to simplify tariffs and entry requirements between nations. This week, Guatemala and El Salvador reached an agreement eliminating customs between the two countries, according to González, and Costa Rica may participate in similar agreements in the future.
Of the proposed Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), González said, “We aren't a country that likes to have things imposed on us, but we need a clear understanding of the consequences of a ‘yes' or ‘no' vote in the Legislative Assembly.”
Rejecting CAFTA would cause a loss in foreign investment, he said, but on the other hand the agreement is not a panacea for Costa Rica 's economic problems. It would need to be accompanied by structural changes such as widespread improvements in infrastructure for Costa Rica to compete on a global scale.
Costa Rica is under increased pressure to improve its attractiveness to foreign investors because other Central American nations are improving in education and political stability, areas in which Costa Rica has traditionally stood out from its neighbors.
“Costa Rica can't be passive,” he said. He mentioned areas for improvement in the future, such as increased availability of bilingual workers.
“English is an extremely high priority for us,” he said.
Participants in the Second Business Roundtable of the Latin American-Iberian Summit included Barry Featherman, president of the Inter-American Economic Council; U.S. congressman Donald Payne (D-New Jersey); Leong Sze Hian, a financial advisor from Singapore; and Albert Ramdin, Western Hemispheric affairs advisor to the government of Suriname.
The morning's discussions, held at the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel northwest of San José , dealt with U.S.-Latin American relations and business opportunities for the region. A speech by Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco kicked off the event.
Trash Piles Up in Tibás,
Health Ministry Files Charges
The Ministry of Public Health filed a complaint yesterday with the Prosecutor's Office against the Municipality of Tibás, north of San José, for failing to collect more than 500 metric tons of trash that have been piling up on city streets for weeks.
Tibás mayor Percy Rodríguez and Municipal Council president Lilliana Beer were named in the complaint, and face a punishment of one to four years if convicted, Channel 7 TV News reported
Vice-Minister of Health Francisco Cubillo filed the complaint.
Mountains of trash have been piling up for weeks, causing bad odors that pervade the city's streets. Local residents have dumped hundreds of bags of trash at the Municipality building in protest.
The mounting trash is the product of a fight between Rodríguez and the Municipal Council, according to the daily La Nación. Rodríguez alleges the council has not approved enough funds for gas for trash collection.
Trash collection was suspended in early November, and 500 tons of trash is produced every week, Rodríguez told La Nación. The municipality's three trucks cannot keep up, he said.
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) and the Municipality of San José yesterday planned to lend dump trucks to Tibás for trash collection, and the Río Azul landfill was to remain open in the evening to receive all of the trash, according to Channel 7.
In addition, the municipality asked for permission from MOPT to use six unregistered trucks that have not passed the mandatory Riteve vehicle inspection.
With this extra help, Tibás could be clean of trash by Sunday, Channel 7 reported.
However, the Ministry of Health's complaint will stand, as the municipality must find a way to normalize trash collection.
The prosecutor in charge of the case must determine if the case should go to trail, or if it can be avoided if streets are kept clean, according to the news report.
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