Organs of 12-Year-Old Drowned in Arachthos to Be Transplanted in Greece, Italy, and Germany

In the early hours of Tuesday (June 17, 2025), the procedure to harvest organs from a 12-year-old boy from Albania is expected to begin. He was one of two boys who went missing in the river where they had gone for a swim. The organ retrieval process for the 12-year-old child, who tragically lost his life after drowning in the Arachthos River near Arta, will take place on Tuesday at the University Hospital of Patras. Despite the efforts of doctors at the hospital in Arta and the Children and Adolescents’ Intensive Care Unit of the Patras University General Hospital, the unfortunate student took his last breath. Following the decision by the parents of the 12-year-old to donate their child’s organs, the necessary procedures began to retrieve the corneas, liver, kidneys, pancreas, heart, and lungs. According to reports, the organs of the 12-year-old are expected to be transplanted into recipients in Greece, Italy, and Germany. Meanwhile, as stated by the director of the Children and Adolescents’ Intensive Care Unit at the University Hospital of Patras, Andreas Heliades, to APE-MPE, ‘it is very significant that a foreign family willingly donates their child’s organs to us in Greece.’ It is worth noting that earlier on Monday (June 16, 2025), another boy also lost his life while attempting to save his friend.