Sara Guglielmetti Controversy erupted after the Municipality of Gallarate rejected the idea of an organ donation flyer in English and Arabic.
"No to organ donation flyers in multiple languages": Controversy erupts in Gallarate.
In recent days, the president of the municipal branch of Aido, Georgia Gionchetta, had installed, in agreement with the Municipality of Gallarate, a new information panel at the entrance to the municipal offices to raise awareness about organ donation .
Gallarate, in fact, is the municipality in the province of Varese with the lowest number of votes cast for identity card renewals. The president had also raised the idea of developing flyers in Arabic and English to facilitate the process for foreigners living in Gallarate. This idea, however, provoked a reaction from Councilor Picchetti, representing a civic list close to the Northern League mayor Andrea Cassani, who responded with a press release: " Support for donations, but the Registry Office speaks Italian."
The response from the Transplant Foundation and AIDO
Following the Gallarate municipal administration's decision not to display informational materials on organ donation in languages other than Italian, the Transplant Foundation and AIDO responded : "Providing information means empowering every person to understand and choose. Organ donation is an act of solidarity that transcends borders, affiliations, origins, or cultural differences.
It is a personal and conscious choice that can transform a loss into a concrete chance for another person's life. The culture of donation must be able to reach everyone, without distinction. Promoting donation means offering everyone the opportunity to learn, understand, and consciously evaluate a choice that can have extraordinary value for another person's life. The use of information tools in multiple languages, where it can be useful to reach and inform a greater number of people, does not replace Italian or undermine the identity of a community. It simply means removing, whenever possible, an obstacle to understanding an important message. Organ donation concerns everyone: those who can choose to become donors today, those who may one day need a transplant, and families faced with particularly delicate moments.