Six-day-old infant gets heart transplant

A six-day-old premature baby has become the youngest infant to receive a heart transplant at a US hospital, doctors and the infant's proud parents said on Thursday.

Baby Oliver Crawford underwent the operation at Phoenix Children's Hospital in Arizona after being born seven weeks ahead of schedule with a heart defect that meant his parents didn't expect him to survive.

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

"But he came out fighting," she added in a statement released by the hospital.

The baby is recovering in hospital after being born on Jan 5.

His mother and father, Chris Crawford, were alerted to the problem after a prenatal exam at 20 weeks showed a defect in the tiny baby's heart, called dilated cardiomyopathy.

It was confirmed four weeks later. "The left ventricle was huge for a 24-week-old," pediatric cardiologist Dr. Christopher Lindblade told The Arizona Republic.

They even prepared for Oliver's funeral, clearing their home of toys, diapers and other baby things.

Using statistics from the study, Lindblade told the parents that their baby had a 58 percent chance of not dying or not having to have a heart transplant.

Within hours of the birth the baby was screened to see if he was healthy enough for a heart transplant. He was put on a national transplant waiting list on Jan 9, and two days later a viable heart became available.

The operation lasted for 10 hours, after which he had an incision from his belly to his chest.

"From our understanding, Oliver is the youngest recipient in the nation. He received his transplant at 34 weeks and 3 days gestation," said his mother.

The baby's father said: "It is amazing. After expecting the worst, Oliver is indeed a miracle."