Health appoints new representatives to the National Donation and Transplant Council

The Ministry of Health appointed Dr. Jorge Asdrúbal Alfaro Chavarría and Sandra Chanto Quesada as representatives to the National Council for Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation. The appointment was formalized through Ministerial Agreement No. MS-DM-MF-5057-2026, signed on August 18, 2026, and published in La Gaceta No. 187 on Monday, October 5, 2026, with the official reference IN202601129624.

The National Council for Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation was created by Article 40 of Law No. 9222, “Law on the Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues” of March 13, 2014, and is attached to the Ministry of Health as an advisory body on organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Article 15 of Executive Decree No. 39895-S of September 6, 2016, the regulation of said law, establishes that the appointment of Council members is carried out via ministerial agreement published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta.

The agreement was issued based on Article 5 of Law No. 5412 of November 8, 1973, “Organic Law of the Ministry of Health,” and Articles 40 and 41 of Law No. 9222, as well as Article 15 of Executive Decree No. 39895-S, published in Supplement No. 217 of La Gaceta No. 196 on October 12, 2016.

The two appointments

• Dr. Jorge Asdrúbal Alfaro Chavarría, identity card No. 1-1250-0956, as representative of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Costa Rica. He was appointed by the Governing Board of said college through official letter No. SJG-1794-11-2025 of November 5, 2025, signed by Dr. Carlos Araya Fonseca, Secretary of the Governing Board.
• Sandra Chanto Quesada, identity card No. 1-0551-0398, as representative of non-governmental organizations and community groups of transplant patients. She was appointed through official letter No. CARTA-MS-DSS-UASS-SETDT-084-2026 of August 11, 2026, signed by Dr. César Gamboa Peñaranda, Coordinator of the Technical Executive Secretariat for Donation and Transplantation, representing the Nephrology Foundation of Costa Rica.

Requirements and validity

Article 41, subsections c) and e), of Law No. 9222 provides that the Council is composed, among others, of a representative of transplant patients or those requiring a transplant, appointed in an assembly in which representatives formally registered with the Ministry of Health by the non-governmental organizations or community groups to which they belong participate. The body also includes a representative of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Costa Rica, appointed by its Governing Board, with experience in areas related to organ and tissue donation and transplantation processes.

The same regulation specifies that these representatives are elected every two years and cannot be re-elected for more than one consecutive term. Article 2 of the agreement indicates that the appointment takes effect from the date of its signing, and the document appears signed by Dr. Alexander Sánchez Cabo, Minister of Health, in San José, on the eighteenth day of the month of August, two thousand twenty-six.

Impact

With these appointments, the medical and patient representation is covered in the body that advises the Ministry of Health on the national policy for organ and tissue donation and transplantation, a field in which the composition of the Council conditions technical decision-making and dialogue with patient organizations.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 187 of October 5, 2026, Executive Branch (Agreements), p. 8 (official reference: IN202601129624).