Who decides my life? The living will (or DAT): when, how, and why

The fifth event in the "Ready to Act, Together We Can" , organized by the Rotary Club of Alba in collaboration with Banca d'Alba, features Dr. Luciano Orsi, who will present a presentation on "Who Decides About My Life? The Living Will (or DAT): When, How, Why."

More than eight years have passed since law no. 219 of December 22, 2017, first established the so-called living will, providing that—through Advance Treatment Directives (ADTs)—anyone can express their wishes regarding healthcare, including consent or refusal to diagnostic tests, therapeutic choices, and individual treatments, in anticipation of a possible future inability to make decisions for themselves. However, the legislation is still little known and consequently rarely implemented. The number of ADTs filed with municipalities, though increasing in recent years, is still small. Indeed, we cannot exercise a right unless we know we have it and understand its content.

For this reason, the Rotary Club of Alba invited Dr. Luciano Orsi, a palliative care physician and coordinator of the Medical Humanities Commission of the Italian Society of Palliative Care (SICP), to speak on the matter. As a healthcare professional and expert in the field, he will explain the objectives and importance of Law 219/2017 and answer frequently asked questions: What exactly are DATs? Why draft them? When is it appropriate to do so? How should they be expressed?

It will be an opportunity to learn about a law that begins by declaring its intention to protect "the right to life, health, dignity, and self-determination of the individual," and which has marked a turning point in the relationship between doctor and patient, viewing the latter not as a mere object of treatment but as a conscious individual whose decision-making autonomy must be taken into account within the care relationship.

Dr. Luciano Orsi (Piacenza 1954), a physician, was Head of the Intensive Care Unit and the Emergency and Admissions Department (DEA) and then Director of the Palliative Care Network at the Maggiore Hospital in Crema; Director of the Complex Structure and the Palliative Care Department at the Carlo Poma Hospital in Mantua; from July 2011 to December 2025, he was Editor-in-Chief of the Italian Journal of Palliative Care and of SICP Communications; since 2026, he has been Coordinator of the SICP Medical Humanities Commission. From 2016 to 2020, he was Vice President of the Italian Society of Palliative Care. He is a member of the Association For a Gentle Right and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Courtyard of the Gentiles (Pontifical Council for Culture).