Transplant-waiting children victims of Venezuela’s crises

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and JUAN PABLO ARRAEZ
Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Zoe Martano is no stranger to misery. The 6-year-old Venezuelan girl has spent half of her life in and out of a hospital, being poked and hooked up to IV lines meant to keep her alive until her country’s crises dissipate. The young leukemia victim is waiting for a bone marrow transplant doctors say she desperately needs. But except for a few charity-aided cases, poor Venezuelan children have not received transplants since 2017. A parent organization estimates that dozens of children have since died, including 25 this year. The group says there are roughly 150 children waiting for a transplant in the South American nation.