PHILADELPHIA — A 10-year-old girl whose efforts to qualify for an organ donation sparked debate about how organs are allocated underwent a successful double-lung transplant Wednesday.
Sarah Murnaghan, who suffers from severe cystic fibrosis, received lungs from an adult donor at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said spokeswoman Tracy Simon. The Murnaghan family said it was “thrilled” that Sarah was out of surgery.
“Her doctors are very pleased with both her progress during the procedure and her prognosis for recovery,” the family said in a statement.
Sarah’s family and the family of another cystic fibrosis patient at the same hospital challenged policy that made children under 12 wait for pediatric lungs to become available or be offered lungs donated by adults only after adolescents and adults on the waiting list had been considered.
Sarah’s health was deteriorating when a judge intervened last week, giving Sarah a chance at the much larger list of organs from adult donors. U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson ruled June 5 that Sarah and 11-year-old Javier Acosta, of New York City, should be eligible for adult lungs.
