Shooting of Nicholas Green

Following their decision of donating Nicholas' organs, Nicholas' parents were received by Italy's President (Oscar Luigi Scalfaro). They were awarded Italy's highest honour for civilians "Medaglia d'Oro al Merito Civile". After Nicholas' death, donation rates increased dramatically in Italy, a country where organ donations had been among the lowest in Europe. According to 2017 data, organ donations in Italy have more than tripled since. Many elementary schools as well as city locations/addresses all over the country were named after Nicholas.

After Nicholas' death, donation rates increased dramatically in Italy, a country where organ donations had been among the lowest in Europe. According to 2017 data, organ donations in Italy have more than tripled since. Nicholas' name continues to be associated with organ donation, and is acknowledged as the most famous organ donor in the world. The result of his parents' decision has been called "The Nicholas Effect" (l'Effetto Nicholas) and refers not only to organ donation but also to everything good that emerged from the tragedy.

The World Transplant Game Federation dedicated to Nicholas Green the ski race for transplanted children: it is the "Nicholas Cup". It has been held in Nendaz, Switzerland in 2001, Bormio in Northern Italy in 2004, Poland in 2005, Rovaniemi, Finland in 2008, Anzere, Switzerland in March 2012 and La Chapelle D'Abondance France in January 2014.

In 1998, a TV movie, Nicholas' Gift, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Alan Bates, was based on the event.

In May 1996 the Greens had twins, a girl (Laura) and a boy (Martin). Since their loss, the Greens have been strong supporters of organ donation and they have been traveling throughout the world to spread the message of donation and tell their story.

Nicholas Green, his sister, Eleanor Green, and their parents, Margaret and Reginald Green, were having a holiday in Calabria, Southern Italy. On the night of September 29, 1994 his parents were driving on the A3 motorway between Salerno and Reggio Calabria. They stopped at an Autogrill, where two men started following their car, believing they were jewellers. The men pulled up alongside the Greens' vehicle and shouted something in Italian, which the Greens did not understand. Reginald Green accelerated, at which point the men fired shots into the rear of the car. He accelerated a second time, and once again the men shot into the back of the car. After the pursuers gave up, Reginald stopped the car, and at this point he and Margaret realized that Nicholas had been shot in the head. They drove directly to the nearest town, but the hospital was not equipped to deal with Nicholas' injuries. The police took the family to Villa San Giovanni, where they transferred to a ferry which brought them across the Strait of Messina to the port of Messina. From there, the police took them to a specialist head injuries unit at a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead the next day.

Following the shooting, Italian police arrested two men on November 2, 1994, Francesco Mesiano and Michele Iannello. They were tried in Catanzaro by a court consisting of three judges, and on January 17, 1997 they were found not guilty. Reginald Green had been unable to identify them, as the shooters had both been wearing masks, and it was dark. However, a year later, with no new evidence, an appellate court with a jury convicted the pair. Iannello was sentenced to life imprisonment and Mesiano was sentenced to 20 years. This decision was upheld by Italy's supreme court in 1999.

Nicholas Green (September 9, 1987 – October 1, 1994) was an Anglo-American boy who was shot and killed in an attempted car robbery while vacationing with his family in Southern Italy. Robbers mistook their family car for a jeweller's. When Nicholas died, his parents chose to donate his organs. Five people received his major organs, and two received a cornea transplant. The incident is credited with generating a significant increase in the rate of organ donation in Italy.