Inspectors sent by the Ministry of Health have arrived at Monaldi Hospital to acquire all the documentation relating to the damaged heart transplant in Domenico, the two-year-old boy from Nola who underwent surgery on December 23rd.
Once the Naples phase is concluded, the inspectors will move to the hospital in Bolzano, where the organ originated, to complete the collection of clinical and organizational records covering the entire transplant process.
The team of experts on the new organ is arriving
In parallel with the ministerial inspection, the Heart Team is expected at Monaldi Hospital to assess the compatibility of the new heart, which was made available last night, and the possibility of the young patient undergoing a second transplant.
Domenico has been kept alive by ECMO (extracorporeal circulation) since the organ transplant he received in December proved damaged.
The family's request: "Keep the first heart"
The child's family, assisted by lawyer Francesco Petruzzi, has requested that, in the event of a second operation, the implanted heart be immediately seized and preserved for any medical-legal examinations.
"I made sure with the NAS that, if the new transplant is carried out, the heart will be taken immediately and preserved in paraffin," the lawyer declared.
Clinical evaluations and transplant list
According to what the Monaldi doctors told the family, the new organ would presumably be compatible, but the decision depends on several clinical and organizational factors.
The child, in fact, is preceded on the list by three other pediatric patients. The decision to allocate the organ to Domenico could also be influenced by the condition of the available heart: it would have remained in cold ischemia for approximately 20 minutes before extracorporeal perfusion, a factor that could impact the ethical assessment of priority.
The national team of specialists
A group of cardiac surgeons and pediatric cardiologists from leading Italian centers will participate in the evaluation: the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, the Padua University Hospital, the Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital, and the Regina Margherita Hospital.
According to what was reported to the family, the cardiac surgeon who operated on him in December would be willing to perform the new operation.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
The baby's situation is very complicated, and it seems to me that the decisions are difficult to make. Doctors must consider many factors, and the family is right to want to keep the first heart for further testing. Let's hope everything goes well.