NATION : Heart Rejection Killed Stormie
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PITTSBURGH — Stormie Jones, the world’s first heart-liver transplant recipient, died of acute rejection of her heart, doctors said today.
The cause of death surprised doctors at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where Stormie had her historic operation in February, 1984. It’s unusual for heart rejection to occur so long after surgery, said Dr. F. Jay Fricker, a pediatric cardiologist.
“I’ve never seen it occur or reported in the literature before,” he said at a news conference. “It’s unique that it happened this late and so acutely.”
Stormie died Sunday at Children’s Hospital after being rushed from her home in White Settlement, Tex., with a sore throat and fever. She was 13.
Fricker said it’s not known why the heart was rejected. He said Stormie showed no signs of heart trouble.
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