Marcello Casal Jr. / ABr
The case is causing outrage in Italy. The 2-year-old child is awaiting a new heart transplant, after receiving an organ that had suffered severe damage due to inadequate conservation during transport.
A heart transplant performed on a two-year-old child in Naples, Italy, caused outrage in the country due to the fact that the organ was implanted even after having suffered severe damage due to inadequate conservation.
Although the heart was not in ideal condition for surgery, the intervention had to be carried outbecause the little patient was already prepared in the operating room.
According to the ANSA agency, the situation triggered a real race against time, as the child is admitted to the Monaldi Hospital, on life support, more than 50 days ago waiting for a new transplant.
According to the National Health Service in the Campania region, the organ was transported in a “common” rigid plastic container and exposed to extremely low temperatures, which caused severe damage. The correct option, according to health authorities, would be to use a technological box capable of maintaining constant and controlled temperatures.
Experts also do not rule out the possibility that the heart was placed on dry ice instead of traditional ice. Dry ice can reach temperatures close to minus 80 degrees Celsius, which would have “burned” the organ.
According to the reconstruction of the case, the heart was removed in Bolzano from a four-year-old boy who drowned. He was then transferred to Naples, first by helicopter to Verona and then by plane to the capital of Campania. During one of the steps, a technical problem will have damaged the organwhich is described as “burned“.
Patrizia Mercolinomother of the boy hospitalized in Naples, wants to clarify what happened and made an appeal to Pope Leo XIV. “A few days ago, after the transplant, they called me saying that the new little heart wasn’t working. We only found out about the cause through the newspapers,” he told .
The family lawyer, Francesco Petruzzihighlights that “what happened is extremely serious. Very serious injuries are being identified. An investigation is underway, under the exclusive responsibility of the prosecutor responsible for the case. Our appeal is for you to receive a healthy organ as quickly as possible; every hour that passes could be fatal“.
The mother says she discovered that her son had a heart problem when the boy was four months old. “Due to unusual crying, we went to the hospital, where we were diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. He continued with supervised therapy while we waited for a heart.”
“I left everything aside. Now I just feel pain and a huge desire to have him home. I’m just looking for a new little heart. Of course I don’t want any more children to die, but I hope they will help me find one. I ask this to everyone who can help me and I also appeal to the Pope“, declared the Italian in an interview with RAI.
According to doctors at Monaldi Hospital, the child is seriously illbut in stable conditionand is still a candidate for a second transplant. However, health professionals at the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome considered that the boy would not be eligible for a new bodyeven in the event that a heart becomes available.
In Italy, pediatric transplants are rare, as are donations. In 2024, 191 procedures of this type: 79 liver, 76 kidney, 32 heart and four lung transplants. Currently, including the Neapolitan boy, there are currently in Italy 48 children under 18 waiting for a new heart.
