The mother of little Domenico on TV: 'They told me the heart wasn't working.' And now Sal Da Vinci offers his help

In the studio of Domenica In, wrapped in pain and silence, Patrizia Mercolino and Antonio Caliendo recounted the ordeal of their son Domenico, who died at just two years old on February 21, 2026 at the Monaldi Hospital in Naples. A story that has shaken the country, marked by a shocking detail: the heart meant to save him reportedly arrived in the operating room "frozen".

The transplant had been scheduled for December 23; the organ came from Bolzano. According to the investigations that have emerged so far, during transport in the thermal box, dry ice (solid carbon dioxide, temperature of -78.5 °C) was improperly used instead of the usual crushed ice. A potentially fatal mistake, capable of “burning” the organ and irreversibly damaging the tissues due to crystal formation. Upon opening the container at Monaldi, the heart was indeed found "encased in a block of ice". The Carabinieri of the NAS have seized the transport box; six healthcare workers are under investigation by the Naples Prosecutor's Office, with checks also ongoing in Bolzano.

Despite the strong suspicion of severe frost damage, the doctors reportedly felt compelled to proceed with the implantation, as there were no immediate alternatives. However, internal checks at the hospital would reveal a serious "communication and procedural deficit": the head physician initiated the removal of Domenico's diseased heart (cardiectomy) interpreting a green light as consent that no other team member claims to have expressed. This misunderstanding, combined with a misjudgment, led to the provisional suspension of two cardiac surgeons from transplant activities.

For almost two months Domenico fought in critical conditions, supported by life-saving therapies. On February 19, faced with severe neurological impairment and a septic condition, a national Heart Team definitively ruled out the possibility of a new transplant; two days later, the little boy passed away. The clinical pain is compounded by human suffering: the parents discovered that the heart had arrived frozen only by reading the newspapers on February 7. “A nurse only told me that the heart was not leaving,” the mother reported, denouncing a serious lack of transparency.

“We do not want revenge. We want truth and that it does not happen again,” the parents stated. To transform an unbearable grief into concrete support, the family intends to establish an association named after Domenico, in favor of small victims of medical malpractice and the families of pediatric heart patients. The singer Sal Da Vinci has offered his support, stating he is ready to promote a match of the National Singers for fundraising. A necessary project, so that no family has to measure waiting in hours and hope in percentages, alone in the corridors of a hospital.