Five thousand kidney transplants at the Molinette hospital in Turin
The «A. Vercellone» Kidney Transplant Centre at the Molinette hospital in Turin surpasses 5,000 kidney transplants, becoming the first centre in Italy to reach this milestone and one of only eight in Europe [1][2][3][4].
History of the programme
The Turin programme began on 7 November 1981, when the first procedure was carried out at the Molinette. By 1 October 2026 the total had reached 5,057 transplants [1]. The patient of the five-thousandth procedure is a 63-year-old woman who had been on dialysis since 2024 due to an inherited kidney disease that had caused severe organ failure; the operation was successful and the woman was able to stop dialysis, recovering good kidney function [1].
The numbers
Of the 5,057 transplants, 4,755 came from deceased donors and 302 from living donors, in addition to 223 dual-kidney procedures and 184 carried out with organs from donors after cardiac death; 726 are cases of patients undergoing a second or further transplant, to which are added combined procedures with liver, pancreas, heart and, in one case, lung [1].
The department
The activity is carried out by the Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplant Unit, headed by Professor Luigi Biancone, together with Vascular Surgery, the Urology Clinic and the anaesthesiology area, with support from the Regional Transplant Coordination and the Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino [1]. The programme's history and results were the focus of the conference «5000 trapianti di rene: contributi, innovazioni e risultati di un programma» (5,000 kidney transplants: contributions, innovations and results of a programme), held on 9 October 2026 in the Molinette Incontra lecture hall on corso Bramante 88 in Turin [1].
Sources
- Il Torinese — 7 October 2026
- ANSA Piemonte — 7 October 2026
- TorinoOggi — 7 October 2026
- TorinoToday — 7 October 2026