Girl Who Got Lung Transplant Needed Another

The 10-year-old girl whose need for a lung transplant brought national attention to the way the donor waiting list works is recuperating after needing a second transplant. The parents of Sarah Murnaghan revealed yesterday that the first set of lungs their daughter received failed just hours after the operation was initially deemed a success, reports the AP. Sarah got another set of adult lungs three days later on June 15 and is gradually being weaned from a life-support ventilator, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"It all happened very fast," says mom Janet. "It wasn't something we wanted to keep secret. But in that moment (after the first transplant failed), we were told she would die." Normally, kids younger than 12 can't get adult lungs, but after Sarah's parents sued to put her on the adult waiting list, a judge intervened on her behalf. The national organ-transplant agency has now created a special appeal process for such cases. (More Sarah Murnaghan stories.)