After Domenico's "burned heart," the appeal of those who have returned to life like the Sicilian Maria Pia: "My thanks to Nicholas Green"

The incredible story of Domenico Caliendo, the two-year-old boy from Naples who died two months after the transplant of the "burned heart from dry ice", was feared to have negative repercussions on organ donations. And even though, in the immediate aftermath, the renunciation of that precious act to save other lives seemed to have taken precedence, the data recorded so far actually tell a different story. In the first quarter of 2026, there was indeed a increase compared to the same period in 2025. But it is precisely from those who have experienced a transplant firsthand that the appeal arises to use the tragedy in Naples to relaunch a awareness campaign on the value of donation. Despite the advances in research on lab-grown or 3D-printed organs, donation remains irreplaceable. Reginald Green, the father of Nicholas, a boy killed 32 years ago in Italy, whose organs were donated to seven people, states: "Unfortunately, in Italy and beyond, there are still many oppositions to organ removal. For the Nicholas Foundation, this will be an opportunity to strongly relaunch an awareness campaign among the population."

Nicholas Green

Among the recipients of Nicholas's organs, mistakenly shot during a shooting on the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway, is also the Sicilian from San Fratello (province of Messina) Maria Pia Pedalà, who has lived for over thirty years thanks to the donated liver with the consent of Nicholas Green's parents. Her fate is one of many otherwise marked destinies returned to life. Mrs. Pedalà, who was 19 years old at the time of the events and had been struck by a fulminant hepatitis that left her with only a few days to live, has become the mother of two children, one of whom was named Nicholas, and today she is about to become a grandmother.

Her Nicholas, born four years after that transplant, has become a non-commissioned officer in the Italian Navy. Maria Pia Pedalà has had the opportunity over the years to meet Reginald Green, Nicholas's father, with whom she has maintained a bond. Her story is often cited as a symbol of hope and the importance of organ donation.