By Jorge Yee
Marco Tulio Jolón Monterroso, 27 years old, father of two boys and an expert accountant by profession, became the first person to receive a kidney transplant in Guatemala.
His brother Luis Enrique, 42 years old, who was the donor, when interviewed in bed 203 of the intermediate care room, estimated that the surgical intervention “is a hope for the hundreds of Guatemalans who suffer from this disease.” With signs of pain, as a result of the operation, Luis Enrique had a conversation with his wife and mother, who visited him in the afternoon, after his transfer from an aseptic room, where security measures are maintained to avoid any viral contamination.
Doctors and nurses from the IGSS, consulted about this advance in Guatemalan medicine, expressed their satisfaction that Guatemala is at the forefront in the region.
May 19
Marco Tulio Jolón, the first patient of the Kidney Transplant Unit of the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security, is recovered, out of danger, with the desire to start a new stage in his life. He said he felt happy to be next to his loved ones. Together with his wife Noemí and his sons Marco Noel and Carlos Mauricio, ages 3 and 4, Julio is one of the first Guatemalans to undergo a kidney transplant.
“For more than seven months I had to endure spending long hours at the machine that performed the functions of the atrophied organs, apart from the problems at home and at work derived from the disease. The other kidney patient who received a kidney transplant that same day, in a separate operating room, was Roberto Esquivel.
first three
Julián de Jesús Arana was the third kidney recipient, donated by his sister Simona Arana. The operation began at 8 a.m. on May 9 and was a success. Dr. Óscar Cordón Castañeda said that the transplant unit intends to perform approximately 12.
write the story
This note is part of the commemorative series of our diamond wedding, it is a journey through news that marked the history of Guatemala, with original texts and images from each era, as a reliable testimony of our mission of service.