The State - News from March 25, 1988

A baby born without most of her brain and kept alive on a respirator in hopes that her organs could be donated was removed from life support after seven days, according to Loma Linda University Medical Center officials. Baby Cassandra, the fifth anencephalic infant included in the San Bernardino-area hospital’s infant donor program, was still breathing on her own but showed signs of deterioration. Without proper amounts of oxygen, a hospital spokeswoman said, the baby’s organs will sustain damage and not be fit for donation. However, the young girl’s heart valves and perhaps her eyes may be donated after her death. None of the five babies brought to Loma Linda as part of its anencephalic infant organ program has so far been successfully used as a donor.