Now to a medical breakthrough.

An infant underwent a partial heart transplant just 17 days old and a year later he is healthy, doing so well.

El Rf here with the story: go

od morning, Ariel, good morning to you, George.

This is truly transformative.

Doctors tell us.

This partial heart transplant is a groundbreaking, successful first step on the road to more widespread clinical trials.

It’s a sign of hope not only for this Baby’s family, but for millions of young heart patients around the world.

This morning, a medical breakthrough, a partial heart transplant successfully growing in an infant for a year, hi, Budd, hi, born with a heart defect, Owen Monroe underwent the groundbreaking procedure in 2022 at just 17 days old.

In a new study, doctors from Duke Health reporting, the boy has functioning heart valves and arteries that are growing with him as if they were his own.

I mean this was completely Uncharted Territory.

In the first of its kind surgery, arteries and valves from a donated heart were integrated into Owen’s heart.

Surgeons hoping this partial transplant provides a one-time fix.

Other treatment options are not as ideal, like using valves from organ donors, which wouldn’t grow with Owen and would require multiple surgeries to replace, or a full transplant with high doses of anti-rejection medications, and what we found is that with partial heart transplants you’re on about a quarter of that dose and it’s really a non-life altering dose.

He went into stage four- heart failure- within a few hours after birth and he was pretty much already out of options.

It terrifying doctors felt the best option for Owen was the partial transplant.

I hit them with the hard-hitting- have you done this before?

And they said on five piglets, and I said I guess Owen’s going to be your first human.

The eight- hour surgery.

A success, Owen heading home 28 Days Later today.

He is a thriving toddler, doctors, optimistic there will be no surgery in his future.

We are just eternally, eternally grateful for our donor’s family.

Um, truly Owen would not be here today.

And best of all, Owen has paved the way for 12 other children to have this life-saving procedure, including multiple babies saved by different parts of the same heart and babies with new transplants whose old heart valves can be reused.

It’s literally changing the world and it’s incredible to just be a part of it.

And Owen’s parents have been in touch with the family of C Pacho, who donated his heart valves and arteries to save Owen, and Kane’s mother wanted to get the message out there about how vital organ donation can be.

Doctors tell us, this new partial heart transplan

t procedure has the potential to double the number of hearts that can be used to benefit children with heart disease.

So a monumental impact, Lara.

Oh yeah,

It is, Ariel.

Thank you so much.

Well, hey there Gma fans, Robin Roberts here.

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