A 7-year-old boy is airlifted from Onasio to a hospital in Rome for a heart transplant

Last Tuesday (21.02.2023) a special team of Italian doctors performed an emergency operation to transfer a 7-year-old patient from the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center (OKC) to the Bambino Gesu Hospital in Rome.

According to a joint announcement by the National Transplant Organization (NTO) and the Onassio Cardiac Surgery Center (OKC), a few days ago the child developed rapidly progressive heart failure. It was deemed necessary to put him on an extracorporeal circulation machine (ECMO) to support his heart and respiratory function, and the child was later transferred to Italy for treatment at a center where heart transplants are performed.

Since the transfer of a patient supported by ECMO is a very difficult and unsafe procedure, the OKK, in consultation with the doctors, requested the Italian EOM to send, exceptionally, a special team of Italian doctors. With a specially equipped ambulance for the safe transportation of the child.

This plan required approvals at the level of the Prime Minister of Italy, as an Italian military aircraft would arrive in Greece to pick up a non-Italian citizen, for which the Office of the Prime Minister of Greece, the relevant Ministries of Health and National Security, and a set of governmental and military institutions in Greece and Italy, immediately cooperated and coordinated. Necessary approvals were granted within hours without delay.

Tuesday at 12:45 p.m. The Italian plane landed at the “Eleftherios Venizelos” International Airport carrying 12 doctors and technicians who, together with the relevant team from OKK, prepared and received the little patient. At 8:30 p.m. In Greek time, the child was already admitted to the transplant clinic of the Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome, where he is awaiting a compatible heart transplant in the next period as an immediate priority.

“Both EOM and OKK, always looking forward to the adequate development of the domestic transplant program, wish the child a speedy recovery, and sincerely thank all those who contributed to this special operation, where professionalism, readiness to respond, but humanity, put together a strong and effective “chain of life” for the little patient. “Special thanks to: Office of the Prime Minister of Greece, Office of the Minister and Deputy Minister, Office of the Deputy Minister of National Defense, National Security General Staff, Aviation General Staff (GEA/KEPIX), General Police Directorate of Attica (GADA), Hellenic Police Operations Center, Attica Transport Directorate, “Dias” Team, Police Operations Center, International Airport Security Supervisors “L. Venizelos”, Directorate of International Insurance Relations EOPYY, Consular Officers in Greece and Rome, Office of the Prime Minister of Italy, General Staff of the Italian Air Force, Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital of Rome, National Organization for Transplantation of Italy (CNT)” .