Italy performs first heart transplant from Covid positive donor

ROME, ITALY – Italy has performed the world’s first heart transplants from COVID-positive donors to virus-negative recipients in Bologna and Rome.

A 15-year-old boy received a new heart at Rome’s Bambino Gesù Hospital at mid-May. The teenager was treated with monoclonal antibodies to eliminate the risk that he might develop Covid-19. 

“In the paediatric field it is more complicated to find a compatible heart for a transplant than it is for adults. In the last year, due to the pandemic and the restrictions adopted to fight the spread of the virus, these difficulties have further increased. Finding a compatible heart for a transplant is often a unique opportunity. That’s why we did everything we could so that the boy on the waiting list could get the organ he was waiting for. It’s a choice that can make the difference between life and death.” Bambino Gesù’s Professor Antonino Amodeo explained.   

Furthermore, a 64-year-old man got a new heart at Bologna’s Sant’Orsola Hospital at the end of April.

The recipients who suffered from very serious and potentially life-threatening heart conditions did not get COVID after the transplants.

They benefitted from an exemption for the two hospitals granted by the national transplant centre (CNT), which has banned other transplants from COVID-positive donors.