Naples—Who actually delivered the dry ice used during organ harvesting and who was present in the operating room that morning of December 23, 2025? These are the new investigative fronts opened in the investigation into the death of little Domenico, whose heart—intended for a transplant—was accidentally frozen, rendering it unusable.
The request comes from the Carabinieri of the NAS of Trento who, according to the Alto Adige newspaper, have sent a formal request to the medical directorate of the Alto Adige Health Authority to acquire crucial information on the management of medical supplies and the internal organization of the operating room.
The NAS's request: identify who supplied the ice
In the document sent to the health authority, the military requests the precise identification of the workers involved in the dry ice supply chain.
Specifically, the identification of hospital workshop operators is required, with specific reference to the personnel responsible for distributing ice for the operating rooms. This step is considered crucial to clarifying any operational responsibilities in the preparation chain of the material used during the explant.
Investigators are aiming to reconstruct every single phase of the delivery and use of the ice that would have caused the organ to freeze.
The operating block is also in the crosshairs
It's not just logistics. The NAS also requested a complete list of healthcare workers present in the operating room on the morning of December 23rd, personnel who were at the disposal of the surgical coordinator.
The objective is to ascertain the roles, duties, and responsibilities of those involved in the preparatory and operational phases of donor organ harvesting.
«Transmit the results of the internal investigations»
In the communication sent to the health management, the Carabinieri also requested the transmission of any checks already carried out internally by the facility.
"If, through internal investigation, you have already been able to determine which of these individuals was involved in supplying ice to the operating room involved in the removal of the donor's organs," the request states, "please forward the findings."
This development confirms that the investigation is entering a more operational phase, aiming to identify specific responsibilities in the handling of the material that compromised the delicate life-saving operation.
The news is sad and needs to be clarified, but we must wait for the internal investigations and not judge immediately; it seems that there is confusion in the logistics and in the operating room, uncoordinated staff, poorly supplied ice, and procedural errors whose origins are still unknown.