Baby Victoria, 20-Day-Old Girl Who Underwent Heart Transplant, Dies
Baby Victoria, the 20-day-old girl who received a human heart transplant at Loma Linda University Medical Center on Aug. 8 when she was only 8 days old, died Thursday afternoon after developing pneumonia, the hospital announced.
Spokeswoman Anita Rockwell said the infant was in good condition before becoming ill last weekend. Despite antibiotics and other measures, Rockwell said, she did not recover and died at 2:12 p.m. Thursday.
There was no sign, the hospital said, that Baby Victoria had rejected the transplanted heart. In fact, said Rockwell, “her heart function was excellent right up to the final hours.”
The parents, identified for the first time as Michael and Wendy King, issued a statement in which they expressed their gratitude “for what the dedicated doctors and nurses” at the hospital did for their baby.
“We feel she received the best treatment possible,” they said. “We are just very sorry she didn’t make it.”
Hospital authorities declined to say where the couple live, other than to identify them as Southern Californians.
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