ISMETT Strengthens its International Cooperation with Malta

A Maltese delegation led by the Minister for Health and Active Ageing, Dr Jo Etienne Abela, and comprised of national government officials, managers of Mater Dei Hospital – the largest hospital in Valletta – and a team of seven surgeons, one anesthesiologist, two nephrologists, and two pediatricians visited ISMETT with the aim of exploring the Institute’s best practices in transplant medicine and high-complexity care. The visit is part of a long-standing collaboration spanning more than 14 years, yielding outstanding results, and contributing to the consolidation of a virtuous model of health care integration in the Mediterranean region. This visit confirmed ISMETT’s role as a high-specialty and know-how transfer hub, capable of promoting shared clinical standards and transnational health care networks.

Over the course of the two-day visit, the delegation toured ISMETT’s units and met with its clinical and organizational teams, keeping a focus on advanced technologies, multidisciplinary protocols, patient management, and continuity of care. In addition, a series of technical sessions addressed key topics in contemporary transplant medicine, including perfusion techniques in organ procurement from non-heart-beating donors and pediatric liver transplantation. “The relationship between ISMETT and Malta,” stated Angelo Luca, Director of ISMETT, “is built upon 14 years of collaboration that have ensured highly specialized life-saving care for many Maltese patients, and offered new treatment opportunities to Sicilian patients with end-stage organ failure thanks to organ donations from Maltese citizens.” “This visit,” Dr. Luca continued, “confirms the depth of our relationship and an opportunity to define the next steps for this cooperation. Direct exchange among professionals is the driving force to continuously raise transplant quality and safety standards, in the interest of all patients throughout the Mediterranean.”

ISMETT reaffirms 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 the clinical dimension,” emphasized Giacomo Scalzo, Director General of the Sicilian Regional Department of Health. “The presence of the Maltese delegation acknowledges a model of high-complexity care that focuses primarily on the individual, ensuring active listening, hospitality, clarity in communication, and continuity of care. At ISMETT, the most advanced technology and transplant programs do not replace the human dimension of care; on the contrary, they strengthen it. Undoubtedly, innovation has value only if it helps to provide better, safer, and more accessible care. This is the message we share today: a health system fostering international cooperation and quality of care, grounded in respect for the dignity of every person.”