(ANSA) – ROME, APRIL 14 – April 16 is the national day for organ and tissue donation. The Gemelli Irccs Polyclinic is the first hub in the Center-South for living kidney transplantation and to celebrate the day, it has organized a conference on living kidney donation and, from 17 to 19 April, will set up an information point at the main entrance. The desk will be manned by transplant coordinators, doctors, psychologists, dialysis and transplant department nurses and transplant patients, who will provide information on donations and transplants. There will also be the possibility to express consent to the donation, in collaboration with the Italian Association for the Donation of Organs, Tissues and Cells (Aido). Why donate an organ? “It is a procedure that has been practiced for 70 years – clarifies Giuseppe Grandaliano, Director of the Complex Nephrology Operative Unit of Gemelli – in the case of donation from a cadaver, with a single act the life is restored to at least 9 people (kidneys, heart, lungs, pancreas, intestines, liver and corneas). And there is no need to be afraid, because Italy has one of the most stringent legislation in the world. And yet, the opposition to donations from cadavers, even at Gemelli, is still 30%, in line with the national data”. Then there is living organ donation. It is possible to donate a living kidney or a portion of a liver and, since 2012, partial transplantation of lung, pancreas and intestine between living people is also permitted. “Today the donation of a kidney for a healthy person – concludes Massimo Cardillo, director of the National Transplant Center – is a safe operation. When the patient with irreversible renal insufficiency presents himself to the Nephrological Center he must be informed of this possibility, evaluating in the family if a compatible donor is available. Unfortunately, this step is not always done in Italy; this is why living kidney donation has been struggling to take off, with stable numbers for 5-6 years”. In Italy about 2,000 kidney transplants are performed every year, just over 300 from a living donor. A still marginal share compared to France or Spain. “The need is high – concludes Cardillo, however – we have about 6,000 patients on the list and often the waiting time exceeds 3 years”. (HANDLE).
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