Carlo Calcagni peremptory on the importance of blood and organ donation

Carlo Calcagni was the guest of honor at ‘Put the Gift in Motion’ in Gallipoli. “I am not here just as an athlete, as a military man or as a testimonial – he said -I am here, first of all, as a man who has received the gift of life for far more than once. I know well what it means to depend on an act of generosity. I have received blood, at critical moments when my life was hanging by a thread. I have received care, time, attention, from those who put on a lab coat every day and choose to put themselves at the service of others. To them goes my infinite gratitude: to the doctors, nurses, health workers … to all those who, every day, donate not only competence, but humanity.”

“And then … – added the colonel – I received the greatest gift: a transplant, which literally saved my life. Someone, in silence, said yes to organ and tissue donation. And thanks to that yes, I am here today, alive, and I can still continue my mission, my testimony, my commitment to those who suffer. Therefore, for me, donation is not just a concept. It is my reality. It is my second chance. That is why I speak to you from the heart, and I invite you to reflect on how powerful a small gesture done with love is.”

“Donating blood, donating organs, donating time…are all different forms of the same wonderful act: loving without asking for anything in return. We live in a world where everything is measured, bought, exchanged. But the gift is not. The gift is freedom. It is choice. It is life. So let’s really set it in motion, this gift! Let’s circulate it like an energy that passes from hand to hand, from heart to heart. Here we are walking and pedaling for a noble cause, but each of us, every day, can be an engine of hope. He who gives, lives twice. I am proof of that. My motto has become my daily breath: ‘Never give up, despite everything and everyone, whatever it takes,'” he concluded.