20/01/2015

UK's First Ever Neonatal Organ Transplant Carried Out

The UK's first ever organ donation from a newborn baby has taken place at Imperial College London.

The kidneys and liver cells taken from a six-day-old baby girl were transplanted into two separate recipients, in a procedure that has been described as a "milestone in neonatal care".

It is understood the baby girl had been born in "extremely poor health" after being starved of oxygen before birth. Six days after she was born her heart stopped. Doctors at the hospital said that in an act of "extraordinary generosity" the child's parents agreed for her organs to be donated.

The hospital has not given any further details of who received the transplanted organs, but said that neonatal organs could be transplanted into young babies, children and even adults.

An official review into the use of neonatal organs is to be held by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health this year.

(MH/CD)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

31 August 2006
Law change for organ donors
Radical changes to laws governing organ and tissue donation are being introduced, which may lead to more life-saving transplant operations. Under the Human Tissue Act 2004, which comes into effect on September 1, relatives will no longer have the right to overrule the wishes of loved ones to donate organs or tissue after their death.
05 August 2009
Missing Baby Found 'Safe And Well'
A nine-month-old baby girl who was reported missing from her home in Glouchestershire on Monday has been found safe and well. Maylayah Delaney had been reported missing by her mother shortly before lunch-time on Monday. Police have confirmed that a man from the West Midlands is helping them with their inquiries.
28 June 2007
Baby Zoe has heart transplant
The baby girl at the top of the heart transplant list has received a donor heart. At just 18-months-old Zoe Chambers from Hull had already suffered six heart attacks due to a narrow heart valve. Doctors at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle say that the transplant operation went well and Zoe is in a stable condition.
19 May 2014
Woman And Children Hurt In Suspected Knife Attack
A man has been arrested in connection with the discovery of a woman's dead body and four injured children. According to police the body of a woman (37) was found in a house on Reinwood Road, Lindley, Huddersfield.
10 October 2007
Police Trace Mother Of Dead Baby Girl
Police have traced the mother of a dead baby girl whose body was found on a cycle track in Port Glasgow last month. The baby's body was found in a holdall by a jogger on September 26. Strathclyde Police confirmed that they had traced the 22-year-old mother of the baby.