Six-day-old Baby Oliver Is The Youngest To Get A Heart Transplant

Oliver Crawford is just six days old, but he has already become world news as a 'first' at something. He is the youngest infant in the world to get a heart transplant at Phoenix Children's Hospital in Arizona, US. The hospital said, "The baby remains in hospital and his lungs remain weak but he is doing amazingly well at 6.1 pounds," according to medindia.net.

Oliver was born seven weeks before schedule with a heart defect, so that his parents did not expect that he would live. They were first told of the problem after prenatal exam when he was 20 weeks, which showed up a defect in his heart, and was called dilated cardiomyopathy. The defect was confirmed four weeks later.

A prenatal heart condition posed a threat to him before and after birth too, which left his heart enlarged and his lungs weakened, according to nydaily.com.

Paediatric cardiologist Dr. Christopher Lindblade said, "The left ventricle was huge for a 24-week-old. It was massive." Doctors planned for a birth at 36 weeks, but Caylyn went into labor at 33 weeks.

Caylyn, the infant's mother said, "The doctors had very little hope that he would survive the pregnancy, and when our water broke at 33 weeks, we were prepared to deliver a still born baby. But he came out fighting."

In a few hours after birth Oliver underwent screening to check if he was healthy enough for a heart transplant. After he was born on January 5, he made it to the national transplant waiting list on January 9, and then after two days, a viable heart became available. The heart transplant operation went on for 10 hours, which resulted in an incision from his belly to his chest.

The baby's mother said, "From our understanding Oliver is the youngest recipient in the nation. He received his transplant at 34 weeks and 3 days gestation." His father said, "It is amazing, after expecting the worst, Oliver is indeed a miracle."