Baby girl in Hong Kong gets new heart donated from mainland

HONG KONG, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- A Hong Kong hospital completed its first organ transplant using a heart donated from the mainland on Saturday, giving a new life to a 4-month-old local girl.

The baby girl, who suffered from heart failure, is in urgent need of a transplant to survive. While the search for a suitable local donation continued, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government sought assistance from the National Health Commission.

On Friday, the heart of a child who died in an accident on the mainland was assessed to be suitable for being donated to the girl. The heart arrived in Hong Kong on Friday evening and the medical team from Hong Kong Children's Hospital successfully performed the surgery in the early hours of Saturday.

Chief Executive of the HKSAR John Lee said the heart was the smallest ever to be transplanted in Hong Kong, and the mainland and Hong Kong authorities had overcome many challenges to make it happen.