Transplants: Vicenza tops national rankings

In 2023, Vicenza's San Bortolo Hospital, with its 49 kidney transplants, surpassed the totals of 7 regions: Liguria, Campania, Calabria, Abruzzo, Sardinia, Umbria, and Basilicata. It nearly matched the Marche region's total of 50 transplants. Additionally, with its 10 living donor transplants, Vicenza not only exceeded all these regions but also equaled Friuli-Venezia Giulia. However, the year of records for the Ulss Berica, which concluded the previous year with 49 kidney transplants (39 from deceased donors and 10 from living donors), doesn't stop here.
Vicenza continues to be a hub for organ donors, as evidenced by the province's leading membership in the Aido’ organization within the Veneto region.
In 2023, Veneto saw a 27.7% increase in donors used per million inhabitants compared to 2022. Vicenza, under Ulss Berica, demonstrated a 45.5% increase. As Veneto, along with Emilia Romagna and Tuscany, experienced the greatest surge, Vicenza stands out as one of the provinces with the highest donation rates in Italy. In 2023, Veneto performed 314% more transplants from donors after cardiac death (DCD), increasing from 22 to 91 transplants. San Bortolo, with its intensive care and cardiothoracic surgery units at the forefront, has been one of the leading hospitals since April 2023, contributing significantly to a procedure that requires a combination of organization, technology, and specialists available only in a few centers. The positive trend continues, with Veneto recording a 30.3% increase in transplants from deceased donors per million inhabitants compared to 2022. Vicenza experienced a 70% increase, placing Ulss Berica among the top performers nationally.
Veneto leads Italy in living donor transplants, with 14 per million inhabitants in 2022. San Bortolo reached 10 transplants last year, making Vicenza the only one to surpass the previous year's number, leading the peninsula. Veneto tops Italy for kidney transplants, with 430 performed in 2023. Vicenza's contribution exceeded 11%, notwithstanding Padua and Verona's broader catchment areas due to their university status. Additionally, Veneto led Italy in the fewest rejections. In 2023, family refusals for donation were only 18, compared to 19 in Emilia Romagna, 28 in Lombardy, and 34 in Tuscany, not to mention 44 in Calabria, 46 in Campania, and 69 in Umbria. Vicenza had only 4, a 50% decrease from 2022. Despite these achievements, there's much work to be done, as 5,800 patients in Italy await a kidney transplant, with 866 in Veneto and 90 on San Bortolo's transplant center waiting list, including residents from the city, the Vicenza area, and various regions, especially Puglia and Marche. Without donations, there are no transplants, and without transplants, lives cannot be saved. That's why the commitment continues. In 2024, Vicenza has already performed two living donor transplants, with another 15 planned from April onwards. Additionally, 5 Vicenza couples are preparing for "cross-over" transplants, a national record-setting program where genetically incompatible donors exchange organs with other recipients.
Furthermore, Vicenza is on the verge of a fourth case of altruistic donation, where the donor gives their kidney to a stranger, a selfless act that goes beyond mere generosity. "There's no debate," explains Gastaldon, "those who receive transplants live longer, and those who receive living donor transplants live even better and longer." (GdV, lunedì 11 marzo)