Naples: 44 liver transplants at Cardarelli from January to today

The Cardarelli Hospital in Naples confirms its excellence in liver transplants, reaching a significant milestone in 2024. With 44 operations performed since the beginning of the year, the Neapolitan hospital has established itself as one of the most important referral centers nationwide for this delicate procedure.

The average of one transplant per week is a testament to the medical teams' constant commitment and their ability to successfully manage even complex and urgent cases. In the last seven days, four patients have received a new liver, demonstrating the organizational system's responsiveness and efficiency.

A particularly relevant fact concerns the high number of donations coming from the CardarelliIn 2023, 24 of the 48 donors from Campania chose to donate their organs at the Neapolitan hospital. This achievement is the fruit of a fruitful collaboration with the donors' families and ongoing awareness-raising efforts about organ donation.

Thanks to these numbers, the Cardarelli not only offers hope of survival to numerous patients suffering from serious liver diseases, but also contributes to reducing transplant waiting lists at the regional and national level.

"We need to raise awareness among young people about the importance of donation, making them understand that each donor can save up to seven lives - he said Antonio D'Amore, general director of Cardarelli -.

We will soon be opening new transplant lines at Cardarelli, and we are also seriously studying the living donor transplant procedure.

"The Cardarelli has performed 2019 liver transplants since 252, with 80 patients waiting, making us the third largest center in Italy. In recent years, after Covid, there has been an increase in transplants, the goal - explained the director of the Complex Operating Unit of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplant, John Vennarecci - it is to exceed the threshold of 50 interventions per year, but it depends a lot on the number of donors".

"Nearly 50 percent of patients have hepatocellular carcinoma, and we work tirelessly on them every day to contain the tumor's growth and ensure they are treated in the best possible conditions for good health outcomes, not only immediately but also long-term.", he added.

A work that has allowed the Cardarelli to regain the trust of Campania users and to curb passive healthcare migration for liver transplants, which today has decreased by 25 percent compared to the past.

"It's not a problem of culture but a cultural one, in the sense that it doesn't depend on education but on knowledge of the subject and, often, on communication between the doctor and the family. The donation - he said Elio Bonagura, head of the Uosd for the coordination of organ and tissue procurement activities - it is the greatest gesture of trust that a citizen makes towards the State in which he entrusts himself completely.

In Intensive Care, we've adopted a specific communication approach that has allowed us to increase donation willingness, with one of the lowest rejection rates in Italy. This awareness-raising effort requires commitment and puts the individual at the center.