Odds Slim for Heart Patient
Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —
An Indiana teen-ager has received a new heart after five days on a pair of external plastic pumps, but doctors said today he has only a slim chance of surviving unless his kidneys start working soon.
Michael C. Jones, 16, also has a higher risk of infection because of openings made in his skin for the pumps and dialysis machine, his surgeon said.
“If we can get his kidneys back, I think we can save him,” Dr. Laman Gray Jr. said at a news conference. “If not, there’s no way.”
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