This end-of-the-year issue is dedicated to the fragile ones, and first of all, pregnant women with CKD or complicated pregnancies and children. Being able to make such an issue is due to the enthusiastic participation of colleagues from different countries, that chose our journal to carry their messages. My thanks to all the authors and reviewers who made this possible.

Journal of Nephrology has a green soul, and it is my great pleasure to thank Gabriele Pellegrini who kindly shared with us his happy ending story. We need happy endings and trust, and we heartily thank him for his message of hope.

This is a Christmas gift for all those who are involved in green nephrology (and overall sustainability) and are trying to reflect on the destiny of the large amount of waste the healthcare system produces. The story of a tin can with a green soul exemplifies the direction in which we have to move: cradle to cradle design, in which tin cans, plastic bags, glass bottles and paper towels, to cite just a few of the items we use, are repurposed, reused and reborn [1].

Life of a Tin Can was awarded first prize in the "My First Graphic Novel" competition, a Comicon event held in Naples from April 25 to April 28, 2024 (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4). We are proud to share it with the readers of Journal of Nephrology, while waiting for a sequel, Life, Death and Resurrection of a Dialysis Machine. Watch this space.