Boy Who Captured Americans’ Hearts Receives Second Liver

Ronnie DeSillers, the 7-year-old boy whose need for a liver transplant drew donations from President Reagan and hundreds of other well-wishers, received a second transplant early today.

The Miami boy’s 14-hour operation ended at 12:20 a.m. at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, spokeswoman Lynn McMahon said. He was listed in critical condition.

Ronnie had been in critical and unstable condition in the intensive care unit and had been on a respirator when the doctors’ urgent, two-week search for a replacement liver produced a donor from an unidentified source late Thursday, McMahon said.

The young donor was about the same size as Ronnie, the most important criterion for a good match, but had type A blood, McMahon said. Ronnie has relatively rare type AB blood.

The boy recently has been suffering from a virus that attacked and damaged his first transplanted liver and spread to his lungs.

The boy’s mother, Maria DeSillers, 31, said liver transplant pioneer Dr. Thomas Starzl of the University of Pittsburgh had warned her that it would be a very close call.

“He felt I had to make the final decision,” she said. “I paced and went over to Ronnie’s bed and I cried. I paced again. Then I finally told them, ‘Let’s go for it.’ ”

Ronnie captured Americans’ hearts in early February when $4,000 collected by classmates in a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., parochial school was stolen. The money was part of $89,000 already raised by his mother, who had no insurance.

After the theft, contributions poured in from around the country. President Reagan gave $1,000 and sent an autographed picture. Florida industrialist Victor Posner contributed $200,000.

An estimated $400,000 had been raised by the time Ronnie received his first liver in an operation that ended Feb. 25.