Domenico's case: Nurses chatting: "It's a mess, they're holding it on their conscience."

Naples - "It's not working... zero... it's a stone." It's 4:06 PM on December 23rd when, in the operating room at Monaldi Hospital, the heart destined for little Domenico Caliendo fails to restart after being implanted.

Those moments are recounted in some WhatsApp conversations between nurses in the transplant department, which have now been added to the investigation into the child's death.

Chats flow as the surgery unfolds. A nurse who has just left the hospital asks the head nurse for an update. The response is terse: "It's not working... zero... it's a stone."
The reply comes immediately: "My goodness, they're carrying it on their conscience."

These are messages that investigators are analyzing to reconstruct the minute-by-minute stages of the transplant performed on Christmas Eve and to identify any critical issues in organ management.

«Arrived in dry ice»

In another conversation, the technical issue that investigators are focusing on emerges. When asked, "What are you up to?", a colleague replies, "They brought the heart in dry ice. It's frozen, maybe they can't implant it. It's a mess."

The reference is to the method of transport of the organ from Bolzano. Internal chats explicitly mention freezing, a circumstance that—if confirmed—could have compromised the heart's function before implantation.

The thawing attempt

A few minutes later, the discussion between the nurses continues. "Have you solved the problem?" asks the colleague following the procedure from outside the room.
The response describes the maneuvers attempted by the team: "To thaw him, we put him in hot water. If he starts again, it'll be a miracle."

This is one of the most sensitive passages in the conversations, as it suggests an attempt to recover the organ, which had already been deemed compromised. Part of the technical investigations ordered specifically focus on these procedures.

The decision to implant it

In the same chats, a direct reference appears to the heart surgeon in charge of the transplant, Oppido. "Is he putting it in?" the nurse asks. The response: "Crazy. Why am I telling you? Yes, he is putting it in."

The meaning of the messages—according to investigators—is that the implant was performed despite the organ's critical condition. This clinical decision is now being evaluated in light of pediatric heart transplant protocols.

Chats in the investigation

The conversations were included in the file opened by the prosecutor's office and constitute one of the documentary elements used to reconstruct what happened in the operating room on the afternoon of December 23.

Il Mattino, La Repubblica and Il Messaggero reported on the matter, publishing excerpts from the messages.

The investigation aims to clarify the entire chain: organ transport, preservation methods, implantation timing, and surgical decisions made during the procedure. The investigation focuses on determining whether any medical responsibility for the child's death was involved.