Transplant record

last updated 8 January 2015

Miami

A 6-month-old baby girl successfully received a record eight new organs in a single transplant, doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital said this week. Alessia di Matteo was born in Italy with smooth muscle disorder, a potentially fatal condition. In January, she underwent surgery for a new liver, stomach, pancreas, small and large intestine, spleen, and two kidneys. Lead surgeon Andreas Tzakis, who broke his own 1997 record of seven organs transplanted, waited until the girl’s condition had stabilized before announcing his feat. The patient could still suffer infection or rejection. “We’re going to be quite nervous for the first year,” he said. “I hope she has a normal life,” said Alessia’s mother, Monica di Matteo.