Belluno, a university student, was operated on in Verona: “A unique emotion” “Bewitched by the gesture of a relative of mine who had left directions to donate organs”
BELLUNO. A box of biscuits as a reward for saving a life, or rather a stimulus to get out of bed and reach the table where Matilde Vicenzi’s puff pastries attract like a speck of gold among the stones enchants a seeker. It is the funny aspect of a story of solidarity that has as its protagonist a girl from Belluno of just 21 years old, a university student. A story also of confidentiality: we cannot name its name or give indications that can help to recognize it. It is the rule for those who donate their bone marrow, which is essential to save a person suffering from leukemia or other blood disease.
In the last year in the Belluno area there have been two donors, both women, one twenty and one forty, who donated the marrow. The younger of the two tells us about the emotions for a life-saving donation.
Why did you decide to be a donor?
“It’s a family matter. A deceased relative of ours had left indications to donate organs and we later learned that his gift was useful for a person to recover functions that he did not have. Then there is my father, who was registered in the register of bone marrow donors, as well as blood, and who was once contacted for compatibility, even if the donation was no longer possible. When I turned 18, I signed up for both blood, bone marrow and organ donors. “
Thanks to its availability, it is registered in a worldwide register in which matches are sought, which are very rare: only one in 100 thousand people. What happened in his case?
«I received a phone call from the Belluno transfusion center: they told me that they had received a request from Verona for further information on possible compatibility with a patient. The doctor I spoke to first asked me if I was still convinced of making the donation. I said yes and the first step has started. I have been to Verona, at the Borgo Roma hospital, three times: to do some tests, to meet the commission and the doctor who would have operated on me and then to do the surgery ».
In his case, the old way was chosen, the one that provides for an operation under total anesthesia. How did it go and how long was it hospitalized?
“Coming from outside Verona, I entered the hospital the day before the blood collection and was discharged the afternoon of the following day, so I was hospitalized for about 24 hours. Of course, these times depend on the person, also for any reactions to the anesthesia. It was the first time ever that I had had an operation in the hospital: I endured everything very well and in the late afternoon they sent me home. It was a unique emotion, which cannot be explained in words ».
And it is at this point that a packet of puff pastries appears …
«I had been operated on an hour before (it is four small holes on the iliac crests, practically on the lower back), there was this nice packet of biscuits on the table, which was really tempting. I got up to take it despite the nurses’ advice to stay still. The whole Verona health team was wonderful, helpful and cuddly ».
Did the surgery have any consequences from a pain point of view?
“It is as if I had hit the backside by falling while skating, in a few days it was all over”.
How was Admo supported in this choice and in the decisive phase of the withdrawal?
“In addition to moral and information support, Admo reimburses the expenses of the trips to Verona and offers the presence of a companion”.
Bone marrow donors are sought especially among young people. Is there anything that can be said to help them make this decision?
«Young people are more easily convinced than adults, who perhaps, for lack of information, do not know how the techniques for bone marrow harvesting have evolved. Someone remembers the practices of decades ago that were very painful. But now everything is different. Apart from the system that was followed in my case, there is also another way that involves only a blood donation, which lasts a lot longer than a normal donation and is preceded by taking a drug. What is missing is correct and incisive information: it is necessary to know that the risks are zero ”.
How did your family react to all of this?
«First of all it must be said that many of my family members work in hospitals and I too have chosen a course of study in the health sector. They were a bit worried because of Covid and the fact that they could not enter the hospital with me ».
Do you know anything about the person who received his cells?
«I know practically nothing, only that the receiver is Italian. They told me the sex, the age and that’s it. In the future, after one year, they will inform me if the donation was successful. According to the rules that exist in Italy, I will be able to be called to make a new donation only to the same recipient, who is considered a “genetic twin” and to no one else ».