Samaritan kidney Donation Triggers Chain Transplant, Third Altruistic Graft Completed At Padova
WORLD NEWS – ITALY: An altruistic kidney donation at the Azienda Ospedale‑Università di Padova culminated in the removal of a healthy kidney in October and a same‑day transplant into a woman, marking the third Samaritan kidney transplant carried out in Padova and one of ten such donations recorded nationally. The procedure was performed within the hospital’s operating suites and sits alongside a busy renal program that has already completed 53 kidney transplants so far this year.
The donor first made contact in February through a dedicated Padova helpline and was guided through the process by Lucrezia Furian, who provided initial information and arranged an in‑person meeting. The center’s pathway begins with a detailed conversation and proceeds to clinical and psychological assessments designed to confirm suitability. Staff take care to explain both the surgical steps and the longer‑term medical implications of donating a kidney.
The decision to give was intensely personal and initially kept even from family members, yet the donor recovered well and has returned to normal life following the operation. The recipient was the woman who received the kidney on the same day, and the team described the case as part of a broader strategy that can multiply benefit: when a Samaritan donor is available, allocation may prioritize finding a compatible recipient who has a willing but incompatible living donor, enabling that donor to in turn give to another person.
Italian programs have used Samaritan donations to initiate chains of transplants; ten Samaritan donors have led to thirty transplants across the country. The story highlights both the technical capacity at Padova and the persistent demand: around 6,000 people remain on the national waiting list for a kidney transplant.
