MILAN - Serie A TIM is helping to raise funds for the Italian Association for Cystic Fibrosis (LIFC) until Sunday 1 March. Call or text 45509 to donate and help us fight the condition.
LIFC's campaign - which is backed by the Italian president - began on 9 February with the donation hotline 45509 active until 1 March. Actor Marco Bocci starred in the advert to raise awareness about the issue, which will be broadcast on the country's leading TV and radio stations as part of a 'Charity Marathon' against CF.
Serie A TIM is joining the Charity Marathon to support the battle against CF during the course of the Week 25 fixtures.
LIFC will use the funds raised to support the 'Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion' (EVLP) project, which prepares lungs for patients suffering from Cystic Fibrosis ahead of transplantation surgery.
The initiative will be backed by Serie A TIM for the first time to raise awareness among sports fans about the disease, calling on everyone - on and off the pitch - to donate via 45509.
Large banners bearing the initiative's slogan will be unfurled all across the top division games this weekend, along with the number 45509 to raise funds for EVLP because #unrespiroinpiù (another breath) is not only a hope for CF sufferers but a feasible target.
"#unrespiroinpiù is a way of involving a maximum number of people in the fund-raising initiative by calling on them to share the hashtag and donate via 45509 to increase the number of available lungs for transplantation, in turn significantly reducing the waiting list," said LIFC president Gianna Puppo Fornaro.
Figures show the number of double lung transplant procedures decreased in Italy from 99 in 2013 to 77 in 2014, defying the trends on the number of organ donors which - according to data from the National Transplant Network - have steadily risen over the years, from 329 in 1992 to 1,152 in 2014 (RNT projections from 31 August 2014).
"EVLP is a procedure which sees the lungs removed from a donor whose heart still beats but is considered brain dead. The extracted lungs are healthy but have deteriorated temporarily and cannot therefore be used for a transplant. This technique allows us to remove damaging chemicals, excess water and other secreted substances in the bronchial tubes from the lungs to recover organs which had initially been discarded for transplant operations but which could be used for future procedures following specific treatment. This is without doubt an important means of increasing the likelihood of a transplant for a patient on the waiting list," explained Prof. Franco Valenza.
We can help to beat CF by using the number 45509 until March 1. Donate €2 via SMS from TIM, Vodafone, WIND, 3, PosteMobile and CoopVoce or call from a Vodafone, TeleTu or TWT landline. You can also donate from Telecom Italia, Infostrada and Fastweb landlines.
For more information, visit www.fibrosicistica.it
