Naples – "Time is running out for my son, he needs a new heart." Patrizia Mercolino, mother of the two-year-old boy admitted to Naples' Monaldi Hospital, is launching a public appeal while the little boy remains on ECMO, the machine that oxygenates his blood and supports his vital functions while he awaits another transplant.
"A few days after the transplant, they called us and told us the new heart wasn't starting," the woman says. From then on, it was a race against time: "The hours are ticking by, and there's little time."
The transplant and the emergency: the heart "wouldn't start"
According to the family, the child had undergone a transplant with a heart that was later deemed unusable. In the days following the surgery, according to the mother, the organ failed to function, requiring the child to be placed on extracorporeal oxygen.
From that moment on, there is only one goal: to quickly find a new compatible organ.
The lawyer's objections: conservation and "dry ice"
Supporting the family is the lawyer Francesco Petruzzi, who defines the incident as "extremely serious" and indicates among the possible causes the use of dry ice for transport, instead of "natural" ice: a choice which, he claims, can lead to temperatures of up to
−70∘C and cause cold damage to the organ.
According to the defense, this technical step could have a significant impact on the deterioration of the heart before implantation.
The clinical crux: “Why remove the organ before verifying the new one?”
The lawyer also challenges the decision to remove the child's heart before knowing the condition of the one intended for transplant. According to the lawyer, the child was not placed on any machines before the surgery and had a relatively stable daily life.
“Why remove the heart before checking the condition of the new one?” is the question the family poses at the heart of the case.
The judicial investigation: 6 notices of investigation
An investigation has been launched into the matter. The lawyer speaks of possible "very serious negligent injuries" and reports six investigations, as part of the investigations aimed at clarifying any liability and reconstructing, step by step, the decision-making and operational chain: from organ transport to its preservation, up to the clinical decisions that preceded its removal and implantation.
“Let's not think about compensation now: we need a heart”
On the civil front, the lawyer emphasizes, "there is time": the priority remains the urgent search for a new heart for the child, while the mother reiterates her appeal and asks that the wait not turn into a sentence.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
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