From: anoosh@mips.com (Anoosh Hosseini)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.iranian
Subject: Re: Iranian surgeons carry out low-cost heart transplant
Date: 25 Dec 1992 19:03:42 GMT
Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Sunnyvale, California
NNTP-Posting-Host: wildcat.mti.sgi.com

In article <1992Dec25.135324.2387@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu> hamid@McRCIM.McGill.EDU (Hamio Reza Mohammadi Daniali) writes:
>
>In article <1992Dec24.180907.15588@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU>, farzin@apollo3.ntt.jp (Farzin Mokhtarian) writes:
>|> 
>|>                      >|> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>|> From: Japan Times, December 24, 1992
>|>                  
>|> Iranian surgeons carry out low-cost heart transplant
>|>                  
>|> Sanjarian said the operation cost 250 million rials ($170,000)
>|> in other countries but only five million rials ($3,400) in
>|> Shiraz University's Namazi Hospital.
>|>         

Farzin jon, you forgot to factor in exchange rates.  Please don't give
the foreigners the idea that they should rush to Iran for their 
heart transplants. We have shortages of all forms medical resources.  
The lower cost of the operations may be to due these factors;

1- Iranian government funding of equipment, charging 70 rials/Dollar rather
   than 1400R/Dollar which you are using to compare. Thus if you 
   need pacemaker (which is  imported) and you wait your turn, it would be
   cheaper to do it Iran, relative to the same operation which
   you had to pay 1400R/Dollar abroad. (20X factor)

2- Lower hospital cost due to lower labor costs.

3- Lower doctor salaries.  You can consult a cardiac surgeon  for 1000-2000
   Rials ($2.00 at the float rate).

4- Doctors who operate for nominal fee at University hospitals.   (for 
   humanitarian reasons ) Government pays for all hospital costs. 
   This program is for the very poor.

5- Medical equipment is reused several times in Iran (after proper
   sterilization), while in the US, they are used only once. The latter
   may be to reduce risk, plus safer for law suits.

All that said the transplant is still a great accomplishment for Iran
and Iranians, but nothing to do with the Revolution. 

>|> Iranian doctors have been performing kidney transplants for
>|> several years
>
>Iranian surgeons performed 2000 kidney transplants after the revolution 
>which 90% of them have been successful.The total of kidney transplants before 
>the revolution was only 100. Dr. Basiree a kidney surgeon at Shahid Beheshti Univ.
>pointed out during a conference in Tehran.
>

Before the Revolution there were no PC's in Iran, after Revolution there
were thousands. Thus the Shah was against Iranian having computers.

For a kidney transplant, one needs a donor. Thus we may say that
many more Iranians past away after the Revolution.  Others sold one of
theirs to survive the high cost of living.  Some died trying 
doing the latter.

Its easy to play with data.


>|>                          
>|> Farzin
> 
>Hamid

-anoosh
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