Five-Organ Transplant Patient Delivers Baby Girl

A miracle baby was born to a woman who received a new liver, pancreas, stomach and large and small intestine in 2007 at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, making this the first known case of its kind.

Fatema Al Ansari is the first in the world to conceive and give birth to a healthy baby girl after a five-organ multivisceral transplant. At the age of 19, Fatema was diagnosed with mesenteric thrombosis. This is a clot that blocks the flow of the vein that carries blood from the intestine. Due to this, the abdominal organs failed. She was two months pregnant when this medical condition was detected and was asked to terminate the pregnancy as it risked her life.

Six years on, Ansari, who is originally from Qatar, delivered a girl through C-section Feb. 16, 2013. Born to Khalifa Alhayal and Fatema Al Ansari, baby Alkadi Alhayal weighed four pounds, seven ounces. Ansari got pregnant through IVF and suffered minor complications such as flu and bleeding during the pregnancy.

"Once I became pregnant, I wanted to be close to my doctors at Jackson, where I felt safe and calm. I knew I was in good hands," said Ansari said in a press statement. "My baby is a gift from God. She is a miracle."

Dr. Shalih Y. Yasin, Ansari's obstetrician, said during a press meet that prior to this, there were cases in Europe of transplant patients conceiving a child. But they had just two organs transplanted and not five. The doctors cross-checked all medical literature over the world for such a pregnancy but found none. This is the first such case.

According to the doctors, Ansari's good health permits her to have a second baby.