Boy, 7, Gets 2nd Heart Transplant

A 7-year-old boy who had a lifesaving heart transplant as an infant had to undergo a second operation Wednesday after his body began rejecting the heart, a television station reported.

Jesse Sepulveda underwent the second transplant at Loma Linda University Medical Center, where his first operation was performed, KABC-TV Channel 7 reported.

Hospital spokesman Dick Shaefer refused comment, citing a request for patient confidentiality.

According to the television report, the boy was doing well until a few weeks ago, when he fainted, raising fears that his transplanted heart was failing.

The boy became known as “Baby Jesse” in June, 1986, when he was 16 days old and underwent an operation at the Loma Linda hospital, 60 miles east of Los Angeles. He had suffered from hypoplastic left-heart syndrome.

A Michigan couple donated the heart of their brain-dead son to Jesse after hearing about him on television. The donation was announced on the “Donahue” television show while Jesse’s parents were appearing as guests.

Jesse’s first transplant was performed by Dr. Leonard Bailey, who also transplanted a baboon’s heart into an infant known as Baby Fae in an unsuccessful 1984 effort.

Baby Fae, like Jesse, suffered from hypoplastic left-heart syndrome.