Italian Baby With 7 New Organs Better In Different Transplant Surgery, Idaho Girl Recovering Quickly

A 10-month-old Italian girl is in good condition after receiving seven transplanted organs, but her mother is wary each day.

Eugenia Borgos of Genoa, Italy, received a new liver, pancreas, stomach, large and small intestines and two kidneys Saturday during a 16-hour operation at Jackson Children’s Hospital.

Although doctors say the chubby-faced baby’s prognosis is good, her mother is taking things one day at a time.

“We don’t know anything about the future,” said Federica Borgos. “I’m very wary. The best thing for me is to think for today and for tomorrow.”

The girl suffered from a condition called megacystismicrocolon syndrome, a rare congenital defect interfering with her ability to absorb nutrients.

The surgery was the second major transplant operation at Jackson Children’s Hospital in a week. Julianne Prudhomme, a 4-year-old girl from Caldwell, Idaho, suffered from a narrowing of the intestines and received a new liver, stomach, pancreas and large and small intestines.

The Idaho girl is recovering quickly, and doctors say she could be released in as little as a month.

“She is better than her usual 4-year-old self,” said Julianne’s mother, Penny Huffman.

But Huffman said she and Borgos have different approaches to transplant survival.

“She’s a pretty strong lady,” said Huffman. “But she has a different personality. She’s trying to protect her daughter from the media. We want everyone to know about this, about organ donation.”

“She looks at this one day at a time, while we’re looking to the future.”

Borgos said she was certain her daughter would die until she received a call from a friend, Dr. Michel Masetti, who came to Jackson from Italy almost 10 months ago. He knew about Eugenia and the hospital’s experience with multiple transplants and put them in contact with one another.

Borgos received notice of a donor from Canada a month later.

“In Italy, this surgery is impossible,” she said. The Italian Ministry of Health will pay 80 percent of her medical bills.

Eleven multiple transplants have been performed at Jackson Children’s Hospital. Seven patients are still alive, including Leonardo Cioce of Bari, Italy, who received six organs last July.

Dr. John Thompson, chief gastroenterologist at Jackson Children’s Hospital, said the multiorgan procedures are rare, but gaining acceptance.

“Organ transplantation has been developing over the last 10 to 15 years,” he said. “They’re still relatively unusual, and this is still a very evolving phase. Each child who goes on to live a normal life and eat food normally is a great success story.”

“Most of the children around the world would not survive.”