Monaldi, another family reports daughter's death after transplant

Naples – It's no longer an isolated case, but the potential scope of a serial investigation into emergency procedures at the Monaldi cardiac surgery facility. While the Carabinieri of the NAS, coordinated by the Naples Prosecutor's Office, are digging through medical records to shed light on the death of Domenico Caliendo—the two-year-old boy who died after 15 days of agony—a second virtual file is opening on the investigators' desks.

A new family, assisted by lawyer Francesco Petruzzi, has broken their silence by reporting alleged irregularities mirroring those discovered in the Caliendo case: the use of obsolete equipment to transport heart muscles destined for transplant.

The "mystery" of the thermostatic box

At the heart of the new line of inquiry is the death of a 5-year-old girl who underwent a transplant in August 2021 and died in March 2023 from rejection. The crux of the suspicion, however, lies in the timing of the transplant.

According to the lawyer's statement, supported by a video released by MP Francesco Emilio Borrelli, the little girl's organ arrived at the ward in a standard, old-fashioned refrigerator, lacking the digital thermostat required by the National Transplant Center guidelines since 2018. A "beach refrigerator," as the victim's mother bitterly described it, could have compromised the organ's integrity even before the suturing.

Medical conduct investigations

The investigation doesn't stop with logistics. The little girl's family reports alleged "abnormal behavior" and a lack of empathy from the medical staff. The decision not to file a complaint at the time of the incident—driven by the desire to avoid an autopsy on their daughter's body—has been reconsidered in light of recent revelations in the Caliendo case. The hypothesis being examined by the judiciary is that the fatal rejection crisis may have been the result of an organ damaged by improper storage during the journey to the operating room.

Suspended surgeons and Roman "task force"

The judicial upheaval has already resulted in the first precautionary measures. The two cardiac surgeons under investigation for Domenico's death, Drs. Guido Oppido and Gabriella Farina, have been suspended from their positions. To prevent a halt to the pediatric ward, Anna Iervolino, the general director of the Azienda dei Colli, has signed an emergency agreement with the Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome. For the next ninety days, a top-notch team from the capital will man the Monaldi Hospital, attempting to restore confidence in a department now engulfed by suspicions from the Prosecutor's Office.