Anastasia’s last wish was to donate her organs to save lives, said the mother of the 17-year-old Greek girl who died last week after falling from a hotel balcony in Rome while on a school trip. After her death, four Italian women were saved after receiving her organs. The tragic story started about two weeks ago when a class of the 2nd General Lyceum of Alexandria, of the Imathia region in northern Greece, visited Rome on a school trip. The students stayed at the Cristoforo Colombo hotel where Anastasia Damkali fell from the balcony and sustained serious injuries to her head. Authorities estimate that the cause of the fall was the combination of alcohol and antihistamine drugs she was taking for her allergies. After two unsuccessful operations, the young woman died eight days after the fall, on Thursday March 12. However, after the tragedy, a story full of optimism and humanity that moved thousands of people in Greece and Italy emerged. According to a feature in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera entitled “The last wish of Anastasia was ‘Mom, I want to save lives,'” Anastasia’s mother made her wish come true and her organs were donated to four Italian women. According to the story, Anastasia’s heart was transplanted and now beats in the chest of a girl from Rome of approximately the same age. Her liver was transplanted to a young woman, also from Rome, who had gone through four unsuccessful transplant surgeries before. Another woman received one of Anastasia’s kidneys saving her from having to undergo dialysis. The second kidney was transplanted into a young patient from Emilia-Romagna, in the area of Bologna. According to the feature, one of the young woman’s favorite movies was dealing with the issue of human organ donation. The film “Seven Pounds,” by Italian director Gabriele Muccino, starring Will Smith, inspired Anastasia. At the time of her death, her last wish to save lives was fulfilled.
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