Cancer patient Luis Carlos Ortiz Godoy, who is facing a relapse of diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma after a bone marrow transplant, has still not received the drug glofitamab prescribed by his doctor. Despite a favorable court ruling issued on March 10, the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare (MSPBS) has not delivered the medication, according to lawyer Katia Guedes.
The constitutional injunction was granted by the 9th Criminal Guarantees Court of Asunción, which ordered the immediate supply of the drug. However, more than 60 days after the ruling, the health ministry has still not complied with the order. “Justice has already spoken. Now it is up to the Ministry to obey. That is why we are turning to the press to publicize the situation,” Guedes said.
The lawyer stressed that the right to health and life cannot be subordinated to budgetary or administrative issues. “Each day that passes without the supply of the drug is not a bureaucratic delay: it is a concrete and unacceptable threat to Luis Carlos’s life,” she warned. She also held the Paraguayan state responsible for any worsening of the patient’s condition and announced that if noncompliance persists, new legal actions, including criminal proceedings, will be filed.
Relatives of Ortiz Godoy have started a social media campaign to raise awareness of the case and seek public support, hoping the medicine will be delivered without further delay. The estimated deadline set by doctors for starting treatment has already been far exceeded.