For the second consecutive year, Trento is the most generous of the large Italian cities in terms of organ and tissue donation. The small town of Geraci Siculo is confirmed at the top of the ranking of small municipalities, driven by the sensitivity born after the story of Marta, a girl who died in 2021, with the example of her parents who signed for the explant despite knowing that it was more possible for clinical reasons, causing great excitement and attention towards organ donation. While Apulia Corato and Abruzzese Guardiagrele stand out among the medium-sized cities. These are the results of the latest edition of the Gift Index, the report prepared by the National Transplant Center that analyzes the numbers of declarations of willingness to donate organs and tissues registered in 2022 when issuing the electronic DNI in the records of the 7,028 Italians Municipalities where the service is active.
The Index was published for the 26th National Organ Donation Day, which is celebrated next Sunday, April 16. In 2022, 2.8 million new declarations of willingness to donate were registered: 1.9 million yes (68.2%) but also almost 900 thousand no (31.8%), with a slight deterioration compared to 2021 when the consents were located at 68.9%. 55.5% of the citizens who went to the registry office to request an identity card expressed themselves. In detail, the highest percentages of consent are registered among women (71.3%, compared to 66.2% of yes expressed among men) and between 35-40 years old (72.6%), while opposition to Donation is slightly higher among the very young (in 2022, 30.2% of 18-25 years old registered a no) and then it grows exponentially from the age of 70 (42.4% not between 70-80 years old, 56, 5% among those over 80) in the mistaken belief that organ donation in old age is not possible. To date, the Transplant Information System houses 15.5 million registered declarations: 11.1 million yes and 4.4 million no.
BIG CITIES: TRENTO IS ENOUGH, SASSARI AND LIVORNO BEHIND Like the previous year, Trento remains at the top of the generosity ranking among the 44 Italian cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The donation index reached by the Trentino capital is 69.76/100: in 2022, of 11,678 citizens who renewed the CIE, 65.6% chose to express their will about the donation (34.4% abstained) and among those enrolled, 78.6% said yes. A high approval rating, more than 10 points above the national average of 68.2%. Sassari and Livorno tied for second place, both with a gift index of 67.69/100.
MEDIUM MUNICIPALITIES, THE RECORD GOES TO THE CENTER-SOUTH. This is Corato, a city of almost 50,000 inhabitants in the province of Bari, the most generous municipality in Italy among the medium-large (from 30 to 100,000 inhabitants). The Apulia center achieved a gift index of 77.65/100, more than 10 points more than the previous year, reaching a consensus rate of 81.5% with very low abstention (19.1%). In general, the data for many municipalities in the south is improving, despite the fact that opposition to donation in the south tends to remain higher than in the rest of Italy. In second place is Nuoro, first a year ago.
SMALL MUNICIPALITIES, GERACI SICULO (PA) ONCE AGAIN THE MOST GENEROUS TOWN Among the centers with less than 5,000 inhabitants, Geraci Siculo, a small town in the Madonie of Palermo, once again ranks first, with a donation rate of 94.58/100, a consensus rate of 96.8% and a 6.9% abstention.
