Professor Licinio Contu, one of Italy's leading doctors and geneticists, died in Cagliari at the age of 95. A life dedicated to health and research, with particular attention to bone marrow transplants: on August 31, 1987, he led the team (with Giorgio La Nasa and Carlo Carcassi) that performed the first ever in Sardinia, at the Aresu Clinic on a young patient of 28 years old. An extraordinary and pioneering work, which saved the boy's life and paved the way for hundreds of other transplants on the island.

Also in 1987, Professor Contu created the Regional Registry of Bone Marrow Donors to respond to all Sardinian patients waiting for a transplant. He was also director of the chair of Medical Genetics at the University of Cagliari, of the Regional Center for Organ Transplants in Sardinia, professor of Hematology at the VII University of Paris and president of Admo Sardinia (the association of bone marrow donors) and Adoces (the association of hematopoietic stem cell donors).

Among the greatest Italian geneticists, Professor Contu – originally from San Nicolò Gerrei – returned to Sardinia in the 1980s from Paris. Among his studies, of the highest value are those on hematopoietic stem cells as a remedy for thalassemia. Hundreds of his publications also at an international level.

(Unioneonline/r.sp.)

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