Health regulators in Baja California Sur confirmed that 869 boxes of dialysis supplies abandoned outdoors for months at an improvised lot in southern La Paz have been removed and sent to Tijuana for destruction.
COEPRIS (the State Commission for Protection Against Health Risks) said a transport contractor hired by pharmaceutical company Baxter abandoned the medical supplies at an unauthorized site instead of delivering them to renal patients across the state. A citizen complaint triggered the investigation.
Contractor Abandoned Supplies Instead of Delivering Them
The boxes were intended for home dialysis patients in Baja California Sur. The transport contractor, whose identity has not been disclosed, dumped the supplies at an open-air lot rather than completing the deliveries. COEPRIS head Ethtna Quiroz first reported the seizure in April, when the agency secured the materials and opened an investigation into their origin.
BCS Health Secretary Ana Luisa Guluarte Castro confirmed at the time that COEPRIS had notified the lot’s owner and taken custody of all materials. The supplies sat exposed to weather for months, making them unfit for medical use.
Supplies Transferred to Certified Facility in Tijuana
Baxter designated a new logistics company to collect the compromised supplies and transport them to a SEMARNAT-certified disposal facility in Tijuana. SEMARNAT is Mexico’s federal environmental agency, the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources. The disposal followed Mexican Official Standard NOM-001-SSA1-2020, which governs the handling of health-related products unfit for use.
Baxter covered all costs associated with the removal, transport, and final destruction of the materials. COEPRIS verified the process at each stage to confirm compliance with federal health and environmental regulations.
Agency Urges Residents to Report Health Violations
The case began with a citizen report, and COEPRIS is encouraging residents to file complaints about health or sanitation violations through its website at http://www.coepribcs.gob.mx. The agency said public reports are a critical tool for catching irregularities in medical supply chains and other health-regulated activities.
No information has been released about potential penalties for the contractor who abandoned the shipment. It remains unclear whether the affected dialysis patients received replacement supplies or experienced interruptions in their treatment.
This story was first reported by the Baja California Sur state government and El Sudcaliforniano.