Three transplant operations using Maltese donated organs have been performed in Palermo, according to reports in Italian media.

The operations were the result of a collaboration agreement last year between the Health Ministry and Ismett, the Regional Transplantation Centre in Sicily.

The Maltese donations were the kidneys and liver of a 63-year-old man who died of cranial trauma. One kidney was transplanted into a 57-year-old woman, the other kidney into a 55-year-old and the liver into a 61-year-old.

The organs of a 17-year-old from Valletta were declared ''unacceptable'' as the cause of death was not known.

The Italian-Maltese agreement is for organs which cannot be transplanted in Malta, such as lungs, hearts, liver and pancreas, to be sent to the Sicilian centre.