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SON Dureta hospital expects to shortly be doing liver transplants, when the team which normally does kidney transplants confirms that it is ready to start this type of surgery and the “team of necessary experts are available” to evaluate the results. This was announced yesterday by Jaume Orfila, the director general of Evaluation and Accreditation department of the Balearic Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs, who said that at the moment only kidney transplants are done in the islands. Liver transplants have been under consideration for some time, and when the Son Dureta team have been evaluated as having “sufficient experience” in this area “the Government will support this initiative within 24 hours” he confirmed. The Balearic Minister for Health and Consumer Affairs, Aina Castillo, said that kidney transplants have been a “total success” due to the “high competence” of the urology team in Son Dureta. She expressed her satisfaction that the Balearics was at the top of the league table for the number of donors (46 in 2005), nearly 10 points above the national average (35.1). With regard to heart transplants, Orfila said that “it is not so easy” as there are very few autonomous regions where they are done and every year there are “fewer transplants” because of a “lack of donors”.