Multi-organ Donation by a Twenty-year-old in Catania

Last Updated: October 18, 2023

A multi-organ donation was performed on a 20-year-old who was declared brain dead in the Intensive Care Unit of the Arnas Garibaldi Centro in Catania. The family consented to the organ donation, and the heart was transplanted in Puglia, while the liver was transplanted in Campania. The kidneys and pancreas were harvested by the Ismett in Palermo, and the corneas were taken by the ophthalmology unit of the Arnas Garibaldi. This complex operation involved collaboration between various units of the Arnas Garibaldi, including the Clinical Pathology and Immunoematology and Transfusion Medicine units. Surgeon teams from Puglia and Campania performed the multi-organ retrieval in the operating room of the emergency department. The process involved teamwork between the general management, healthcare management, and the carabinieri, who facilitated the transportation of the surgical teams from the hospital to the airport. The extraordinary commissioner, Fabrizio De Nicola, expressed gratitude to the family, as well as the Ragusa Prosecutor’s Office and the personnel involved in authorizing the organ donation.