Heart for Two-Year-Old Damaged by Dry Ice: Transplant Halted, Three Investigations Launched
Naples, February 7 – A tragic incident involving a heart intended for a two-year-old child in Naples has led to the cancellation of a life-saving transplant and the initiation of three separate investigations. The organ, donated by the family of a four-year-old who died in Val Venosta, was rendered unusable due to apparent mishandling during transport from Bolzano to Monaldi Hospital in Naples.
The two-year-old Neapolitan child, who has been under care at Monaldi Hospital since three months of age due to severe cardiomyopathy, received the long-awaited news of a compatible organ just before Christmas. This offered a glimmer of hope for a new life, made possible by the selfless decision of the donor child’s parents.
What Happened?
Everything was prepared, with the medical team already in the operating room. However, a horrifying discovery was made: instead of the standard ice used to keep organs refrigerated, dry ice-typically used in ice cream parlors-was found. The damage was irreparable. The heart, upon contact with solid carbon dioxide, was essentially burned.
Despite the medical team’s desperate attempts to salvage it, the transplant was called off. The child’s parents are devastated, and the little one remains in the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit of the Neapolitan hospital, still awaiting a new heart. This incident of alleged medical malpractice was reported in today’s edition of “Il Mattino.”
Three Investigations Underway
Now, the focus shifts to clarifying responsibility. Three investigations have been launched: two by the public prosecutors’ offices in Naples and Bolzano, the locations involved in the organ transfer, and an internal administrative inquiry by Monaldi Hospital. The prevailing hypothesis is that a staff member involved in the pre-transplant procedure, after the national database identified a suitable heart, mistakenly used dry ice for preservation.
The ASL Alto Adige (South Tyrolean Health Authority) issued a statement clarifying that “donation and transplant activities are highly specialized and complex procedures, governed by strict protocols and regulations.” The statement further asserts that “the competence and responsibility for the heart’s retrieval, its proper preservation during transport, and the subsequent transplant operation fall upon the receiving transplant center’s team. In general, organ retrieval operations are performed by specialized teams from transplant centers, while hospitals caring for the donor provide the necessary infrastructure for the intervention. The Authority guarantees, as is customary, maximum cooperation with any investigations by the competent authorities,” concludes the South Tyrolean Health Authority.
This medical malpractice investigation will also intersect with an ongoing inquiry into the death of the young donor, who passed away on December 15 while swimming in the municipal pool of Curon Venosta, Trentino. In that instance, the Bolzano prosecutor’s office opened a file for injuries. The immediate priority now is to find a new heart for the child at Monaldi Hospital, where heart transplant practices have been revitalized over the past three years, making it one of Italy’s top centers with a one-year survival rate of 90%, exceeding the national average of 75%.
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February 7, 2026 (modified February 7, 2026 | 19:45)
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