In three districts of Chisinau the number of people with invalidity status because of cancer diseases has surpassed the leading cause of invalidity status in the country, i.e. cardiovascular diseases. Ludmila Sochirca, head of the National Center of Medical Expertise of Vitality (CREMV), told Info-Prim Neo that the local factories that pollute the environment are to blame. She said that the growing number of people with cancer in Chisinau was an alarming sign. Compared to last year, their number has increased by 3‰. The disability pension cancels the age pension. If the persons work, they can have both a salary and a pension. Upon retirement, the person must choose between the disability and the age pension. In the case of children born with disabilities, their disability pension is very small because they didn’t contribute to the social insurance budget. Thus, the parents of a child with 1st degree disability receive 200 lei monthly. The inborn disability causes are diverse, but there is a rise in the incidence of dementia and retardation. The leading causes of disability among adults are cardiovascular and osteoarticular diseases, cancer and hypertension. Ludmila Sochirca said that too often some patients don’t go to medical expertise centers because family doctors tell them they would have to pay bribes to obtain the disability pension. In the case of accidents, the disability pension is granted 180 days after the treatment and as a result of an advanced medical exam that confirms the patient’s incapacity to work. Often, a person who loses and eye or a leg gets a 3rd degree disability pension. Ludmila Sochirca said that in other countries these people wouldn’t get a disability pension because there are advanced medical technologies that can produce functional and affordable prostheses. Currently, over 170,000 Moldovans receive disability pensions, 15,000 of whom are children. The average disability pension is 549.86 lei.