The donor is a 60-year-old man resident in the Mirandola district, who died due to a sudden illness, who had expressed his desire to donate during his lifetime. His will was also confirmed by his wife and two daughters, who were contacted by the professionals of the local procurement network of the Modena Local Health Authority for the authorization to collect.
(In the photo the team that carried out the multi-tissue sampling in Mirandola)
Once the family’s consent was obtained, the usual process was started, with the reporting to the Transplant Reference Center of the Emilia-Romagna Region, the carrying out of the necessary checks for suitability for donation, and the operation in the operating room, which lasted a good eight hours, where the representatives of the local procurement were present, Dr. Enrica Becchi, doctor of the complex Anesthesia and Resuscitation structure of the North Area directed by Dr. Alessandro Pignatti, and Barbara Ferrari, nursing coordinator, together with the operating room nurses of Mirandola .
After the sampling, which also saw the collaboration of the cardiovascular surgeons of the University Hospital of Modena – Baggiovara Hospital, the tissues were sent to the respective regional banks: the corneas to the Maggiore Hospital of Bologna, the bone segments to the Rizzoli Institute and the vascular segments and the heart for heart valves at the Sant’Orsola Polyclinic.
“As always we are grateful to the family for the attention to the cause shown in such a painful moment – underline Becchi and Ferrari –, even more so in this case given the age of the donor. His name was already present in the donor database, as he had expressed his consent to the donation when renewing his identity document. A possibility that we all have and that we invite you to take into consideration. The great synergy between colleagues and above all the growing sensitivity have made it possible to make the fabrics available to those who need them. The Modena Local Health Authority has long launched training courses aimed at professionals involved in the blood sampling process, specific according to the different levels of operation. Furthermore, to spread the culture of donation, other courses aimed at all healthcare workers were organized: the last one was held at the end of September, promoted by the regional Transplant Reference Centre, in which around 30 healthcare workers participated”.