PHILADELPHIA — A 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl who had a pair of adult-lung transplants after her parents sued to change national rules regarding organ donations has developed pneumonia in her right lung, which her mother described on Monday as "a large setback."
Sarah Murnaghan's mother wrote on her Facebook page that after a "tough" day on Sunday, Sarah's condition had become more stable on Monday.
"We have an amazing team of doctors who go above and beyond but also walk this road with us in such a kind and compassionate way," Murnaghan wrote.
Officials at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where Sarah is being treated, have declined to comment on her case.
Sarah has been hospitalized for months with end-stage cystic fibrosis, a chronic genetic disorder that causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs, pancreas and other organs. The girl from Newtown Square, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb, was a top candidate for organs from a child donor but none were available. Her parents sued to change a national transplant policy that put her at the bottom of the adult list for patients 12 and older.
A federal judge intervened and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network — the private nonprofit group that manages U.S. organ allocation — added Sarah to the adult list.
Sarah's situation has sparked a national debate and raised questions among some health experts and medical ethicists about how organ donation rules are developed and under what circumstances they might be disregarded.
Sarah received an adult set of lungs on June 12 but they failed within hours. She stayed on a ventilator until a new set became available for a second surgery, which occurred June 15.
