Published June 12, 2013Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA – A 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl whose efforts to qualify for an organ donation spurred public debate over how organs are allocated has had a successful double-lung transplant.
Sarah Murnaghan suffers from severe cystic fibrosis. A family spokeswoman says Sarah received new lungs from an adult donor at Children\’s Hospital of Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Her family says it\’s \”thrilled\” to share the good news.
During double-lung transplants, surgeons must open up the patient\’s chest. Complications can include rejection of the new lungs and infection.
Sarah\’s family and the family of another cystic fibrosis patient at the hospital challenged transplant policy that made children under 12 wait for pediatric lungs to become available. They said pediatric lungs are rarely donated.
Sarah\’s health was deteriorating when a judge intervened in her case last week, giving her a chance at the much larger list of organs from adult donors.
via www.foxnews.com
This post was imported from a legacy archive. Please excuse any formatting inconsistencies.