PALERMO (ITALPRESS) – A Maltese delegation made up of seven surgeons, one anesthesiologist, two nephrologists and two pediatricians, along with officials from the Government of Malta and executives from Mater Dei Hospital—the main general hospital in Valletta— is visiting ISMETT with the aim of deepening its understanding of the centre’s best practices in transplant medicine and high-complexity care pathways.
The visit is part of a collaboration that has been active for more than 14 years, producing outstanding results and helping to consolidate a successful model of healthcare integration in the Mediterranean basin. The exchange reaffirmed ISMETT’s role as a highly specialised hub for expertise transfer, capable of promoting shared clinical standards and transnational care networks.
Over the course of two days, the delegation toured hospital departments and met with the institute’s clinical and organisational teams, focusing on advanced technologies, multidisciplinary protocols, patient management and continuity of care. Technical sessions explored key topics in contemporary transplant medicine, including perfusion techniques in organ retrieval from non–heart-beating donors and pediatric liver transplantation.
“The relationship between ISMETT and Malta,” said ISMETT Director Angelo Luca, “is built on 14 years of continuous collaboration that has, over time, ensured highly specialised care and life-saving procedures for many Maltese patients. At the same time, thanks to organ donations from Maltese citizens, it has also offered new treatment opportunities to Sicilian patients with end-stage organ failure.”
“This visit,” Luca added, “confirms the depth of the bond between us and represents an operational opportunity to define the next steps in our cooperation. Direct dialogue among professionals is the driving force that allows us to continually raise transplant quality and safety standards, for the benefit of patients throughout the Mediterranean.”
ISMETT, a highly specialised treatment and research centre affiliated with UPMC, reaffirmed its commitment to promoting partnerships focused on training, clinical innovation and improving the patient care experience.
Today’s meeting at ISMETT carries a meaning that goes beyond numbers and beyond the clinical dimension, Giacomo Scalzo, Director General of the Regional Department of Health, emphasised.
The presence of the Maltese delegation, he said, acknowledges a model of highly specialised healthcare that places the person at its centre above all else: listening, welcoming, clarity in communication, and continuity of care.
At ISMETT, the most advanced technology and outstanding transplant programmes do not replace the human relationship but rather strengthen it. Innovation, Scalzo noted, has value only if it helps provide better care; safer and more accessible care.
“This is the message we are sharing today,” he added, “a healthcare system that combines international cooperation with quality of care, in full respect for the dignity of every individual.”
– ISMETT press office photo –
(ITALPRESS).
