Greece has been deeply moved by the tragic accident involving two young boys and the selfless decision by their parents to donate their organs and give life to others. The boys were pulled unconscious from the Arachthos River in northwestern Greece last Wednesday.
The 12- and 14-year-old friends had gone swimming near the city of Arta with a group of boys when the younger boy, who reportedly could not swim well, began to drown. His friend jumped in to help him, and both were eventually pulled from the river unconscious by a man who was alerted of the incident and rushed to their aid.
The two boys were immediately hospitalized in Patras, but despite efforts by doctors to revive them, they were ultimately declared brain-dead on Friday. Following their prolonged submersion in the water, a second round of neurological tests confirmed the irreversible loss of brain function, extinguishing hopes for recovery.
In the midst of overwhelming grief, the boys’ parents made the courageous decision to donate their sons’ organs—an act now offering hope and life to others.
The liver of the 14-year-old, Spyros, has already been transplanted into a 43-year-old cancer patient. One of his kidneys will go to a patient at Hippocrateio Hospital in Thessaloniki, and one cornea is set to be transplanted at AHEPA Hospital.
The compatibility assessment for Spyros’s other kidne is in its final stage. If confirmed, it will be transplanted into a 32-year-old male recipient, following a complex evaluation process that began earlier in the day.
Spyros’s second cornea is expected to be transplanted at AHEPA Hospital to a 13-year-old patient, while the other cornea will be sent to Gennimatas Hospital in Athens.
Sadly, his heart and lungs were deemed unsuitable for transplantation due to the extended time he spent underwater.
The retrieval of 12-year-old Kleonis’s organs is scheduled for late Monday into Tuesday at the University Hospital of Patras.
Efforts are underway to allocate his heart and lungs to pediatric recipients, with possible involvement from transplant teams in Italy. Additional time is needed to prepare recipients in Greece for his liver and kidneys, with his liver expected to be transplanted at Hippocrateio Hospital in Thessaloniki.
