The dying girl who needed a lung transplant and only had weeks to live will leave a Philadelphia hospital after getting the transplant she desperately needed.
Sarah Murnaghan, the 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl dying of cystic fibrosis, received national attention after HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius refused to help.
From a report with an update on her condition:
A 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl recovering from two double lung transplants is expected to be released from the hospital this week, a spokeswoman for the girl’s family said Monday.
Tracy Simon said a final decision hasn’t been made on exactly when Sarah Murnaghan will leave Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Janet Murnaghan said Sunday that her daughter was taken off oxygen, although she still gets support from a machine that helps her to breathe, and has started to walk with the aid of a walker, even venturing outside.
“My sister pointed out that today is our Mom’s birthday — she died 11 years ago,” she posted Saturday on her Facebook page. “And today is the first day Sarah has not needed any supplemental oxygen. Miracles from heaven!!!”
Simon said Sarah’s recovery is now focused on building her muscle strength so she no longer has to use a breathing tube. She said Sarah recovered from a case of pneumonia that stemmed from the tube.
Sarah’s first set of adult lungs failed after a transplant June 12. A second set was transplanted three days later.
Sarah’s parents asked a federal judge to intervene and order the Obama administration to alter longstanding organ-donation rules so she can get the lung transplant she desperately needed.
Sebelius says she doesn’t want to intervene in the transplant case when other sick children are dying, but Sarah’s family says hey want the policy changed for all children awaiting a lung transplant, not just Sarah.
Former U.S. Attorney and current Pennsylvania U.S. Congressman Patrick Meehan has reviewed the federal policy and has stated that because Sarah’s doctors believe she will survive the transplant, Sebelius could make an exception to the existing federal regulation “without upsetting precedent or violating the consistency of allocation policy.” He also wrote in a letter to the Secretary that: “Sarah is not asking to be placed ahead of another, but rather she is petitioning for the ability to compete for equitable treatment based on sound medical judgment and that she be accorded her appropriate place in line. Her need and survivability are the critical factors.”
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Kristan Hawkins, the head of Students for Life of America, has written about the case at LifeNews.
Now, I know the ethics of organ transplants can be a tricky subject for some. I have had disagreements among my own friends and family members. However, for families who are eagerly awaiting a donated organ to save the life of their child or know that it one-day will come down to that, organ donation is a miracle of modern science and treated with great reverence.
Still, others will say, sure, this little girl could get a lung but because she has cystic fibrosis, her chances of living a long life are still slim because her genetic disease will attempt to destroy her new lung. But that’s the case with almost all lung transplant cases, the person requiring the transplant is suffering from an incurable disease and is hoping to get to shot at a few more precious years of life. Because of the complexity of the transplant surgery and the almost guaranteed post-surgery immune system rejection, the long-term survival for lung transplant patients isn’t as long as those who have received other types of organs like kidneys, livers, etc.
However, one thing is for sure – age at the time of a person’s transplant is the most important factor influencing lung transplant survival.
Sadly, what is happening to Sarah is only the start of what we will see happen to our health care system under Obamacare. Government red-tape will override the expertise of our doctors, and soon we will all be at the mercy of death panels run by Kathleen Sebelius and other un-elected bureaucrats.
