The liver and kidneys were donated to three patients in Sardinia and the heart to a patient in Lombardy, the result of a generous act by the family of a 40-year-old man from Ecuador. He died recently at the Giovanni Paolo II Hospital in Olbia from acute, irreversible brain damage. The gesture gave hope to four people on the transplant waiting list.
This was the first organ harvesting carried out in Garulla in 2024. “The Complex Anatomy of Anesthesia and Resuscitation” taught by Dr. Roberto Passaro It was carried out in collaboration with the Regional Transplant Center, coordinated by Lorenzo D'Antonio, and on this occasion the action also counted on the support of several doctors from Gallura ASL: surgeon Dr. Daniele Bertul, surgical specialist Dr. Ariana Meloni, urologist Dr. Sergio Lacquaniti (part of the Medium Intensity Acute Pathology Unit directed by Dr. Luigi Presenti) and the surgical teams from Cagliari and the Iberian Peninsula Transplant Center.
“Organ donation is a complex and well-defined process,” explains Dr. Fabienne Fontnes, local coordinator for organ collection. In this unit, managed by the Anaesthesia Resuscitation Unit, brain death unfortunately occurs in patients who have suffered acute and irreversible brain damage of a traumatic, hemorrhagic, ischemic or infectious nature.”
At the end of the evaluation, relatives were contacted and asked to contact the local transplant center. We will check whether the person expressed their intention to donate organs during their lifetime. If they did not, the family will Right Deciding whether to consent to organ donation. Dr. Fontnes continued, “If the desire to donate is confirmed, the donor undergoes clinical, instrumental and serological testing to maintain organ function and evaluate the suitability of the organ, with the collaboration of the Radiology Department, the Analytical Laboratory, the Transfusion Center, UTIC, the internist who performs the liver biopsy and the hospital's Pathological Anatomy.” Once a suitable organ has been identified, the donor is transported to the operating room for organ removal. Teamwork is fundamental, but the most important role is undoubtedly that of the family, who, in the most despairing moment after the loss of a loved one, as in this case, consents to organ donation, giving hope to patients on the waiting list and sometimes providing life-saving treatment.”
(Online Union)
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