Transplants too costly for N.Z.—Dr Hay

Press, 30 May 1985, Page 5

Transplants too costly for N.Z.—Dr Hay

New Zealand should forget about a heart transplantation service and concentrate on cheaper treatments which would help more people, according to a Christchurch cardiologist. Dr David Hay. Dr Hay. who is medical director of the National Heart Foundation, said yesterday that the foundation had had a number of "emotional and distressing" personal appeals for financial assistance for heart transplants overseas.

The foundation emphasised that public money should be spent on research and education, not on the personal treatment of a few individuals. he said. As a form of treatment for cardiac patients, heart transplantation had moved “beyond the experimental stage.”

Results had shown that it could be accepted as "one of the treatment options for

extremely limited numbers of disabled patients." Although the expertise and back-up for a heart transplantation service existed in New Zealand it was not a priority, he said. "There are enough problems in the health services, not only in cardiac areas but elsewhere, without suddenly deciding we are going to introduce a transplantation service." he said. Health services had too many pressures without adding another one. "The facts of life are that waiting lists for cardiac surgery remain completely unacceptable. Many patients are waiting one or two years for operations to relieve life-threatening illnesses." Treatments being developed in the United States were "just round the corner," said Dr Hay. Although these technological treatments were expensive, they would benefit

many patients, rather than the few for whom heart transplants were the only answer. Dr Hay said that cardiac transplantation was not a permanent cure for heart disease. "In today’s economic circumstances. relatively few cardiac transplantation patients are likely to get back to work, and most require frequent and costly supervision in addition to the $60,000 or more required for overseas treatment. "We have too many pressing problems in the New Zealand health services to be swayed by the emotionalism and media excitement which so often surround cardiac transplantation." he said. New Zealand "should forget about it and help our patients as best we can with treatments which are less costly, less psychologically traumatic, and perhaps just as effective. Dr Hav said.”