Tacrolimus deficiency puts thousands of transplant patients at risk in Peru

Lack of tacrolimus leaves transplant patients unsettled: “My father’s life depends on this drug.” Video: @caterinaforestiac / TikTok

Patients and relatives of kidney transplant recipients have denounced this Tacrolimus deficiencyan essential drug to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ. The reports come from Ministry of Health (Minsa) and EsSalud hospitals, where users say they have not had access to their daily medications for days.

Tacrolimus is an immunosuppressant for long-term use. Without it, a transplant patient’s condition can deteriorate within hours and, in the most serious cases, lose the organ or their life.

This is reported by the staff at the Almenara Hospital

Almenara Hospital staff informs a relative of a transplant patient about the loan of medication to other facilities.

Caterina Forestia relative of a transplant patient treated at Almenara Hospital said Infobae Peru that the situation is lived with fear:

“EsSalud is suffering from a shortage of medicines for several diseases. In this case, tacrolimus is vital for all transplant recipients. The doctors told me when they operated on my father in 2021 that it was a medicine that would always be available even in war because the state is the only one that provides it. But now it is not being supplied properly.”

Foresti explains this The hospital was forced to borrow the medication from other locationsas Digemid has not yet approved the purchase.

Transplant patients at risk: They report that there is no tacrolimus in state hospitals

In his viral video – which spawned dozens of testimonies – other users claim to have had similar problems with medications for HIV, cancer, diabetes or other chronic diseases.

Caterina’s family received temporary support 50 capsules donated by other patientsbut this “solution” is not available to everyone. Since there was a lack of medication, doctors recommended that he reduce the dosage from three to two capsules daily.

“They haven’t told us if there will be a replacement. They just tell us that Digemid has to take over in these days, but there is no clarity,” he says.

It is also reported that many patients resort to purchasing tacrolimus abroadparticularly in India, although importing medicines without formal authorization poses health and legal risks.

Tacrolimus: Drugs are in short supply in hospitals

Tacrolimus: scarce drug in Minsa and EsSalud hospitals.

Foresti filed a complaint on the Ombudsman platform and checks the Digemid page daily for information. You will not receive an answer.

“It’s complicated to call Minsa because it’s only open until 5:30 p.m. Sometimes filing a complaint on a government website feels like throwing a bottle into the sea. I get in touch, but many others can’t or don’t know how. This can’t be considered an isolated case.”

The Almenara Hospital staff recommends reducing the dosage of medication in the event of a deficiency.

After public complaints EsSalud confirmed the lack of tacrolimus and temporarily asked for delivery Cyclosporine 50 mg as a therapeutic alternative.

But experts warn that switching immunosuppressants is no small change: it carries risks, requires close medical monitoring and could alter the stability of the transplanted organ. Abrupt interruption or change of immunosuppressive medication may trigger episodes of acute rejection or progressive graft deterioration.

Tacrolimus shortage in Peru: EsSalud confirms drug shortage and provides temporary replacement.

The problem is not new. At the beginning of this year the Chief Auditor of the Republic published a report warning of chronic shortages in EsSalud hospitals. According to monitoring conducted in 14 regions, 85% of facilities visited reported shortages of essential medicines, including treatments for HIV, cancer, psychiatric, pediatrics, anesthesiology and transplants. The report also highlighted uneven inventory management: While some hospitals ran short of inventory for two months, others accumulated surpluses for more than six months, increasing the risk of leakage and economic losses to the state.

Amid this panorama, patients and relatives insist that tacrolimus must be replaced immediately and that Digemid must clearly communicate when it authorizes its purchase. They also demand a transparent schedule and an emergency plan that prevents new bottlenecks. Foresti emphasizes that his greatest fear is that his father’s life is in danger again.

The Obrero Hospital was founded to care for the working class and represented a milestone in Peruvian health care. It evolved into today’s Guillermo Almenara Hospital. (To the)

“My father is alive thanks to this drug. And thousands like him,” he says. “We cannot allow transplant recipients to lose years of life gained because the state cannot guarantee the medicine it is obligated to provide.”

The complaints continue to mount and until there is a definitive solution, every day without tacrolimus is a day of uncertainty for thousands of families.