Hannah Warren Dies, Toddler Received First Trachea Transplant Made of Own Stem Cells

Hannah Warren, a child who underwent a trachea transplant with tissue grown from her own stem cells, has died. She was 2 years old and would have been 3 in August, according to her family.

Although trachea transplants have been completed before, Hannah was the first child to receive a tissue-engineered trachea devoid of any donor cells, according to the Children's Hospital of Illinois, via ABC News. Warren was born without a windpipe and suffers from the rare and usually fata birth defect known as tracheal agenesis. This causes a partially or underdeveloped trachea that can prevent breathing and lung problems--a condition that is so rare that it's only seen in approximately 1 in 50,000 children.

On April 9, 2013, Warren underwent the pioneering trachea transplant surgery in the hopes of gaining a normal life. And just like magic, her lung function began to thrive. However, her family notes that though the trachea had been "performing well," in the last few weeks, her lung function went from "fairly good, to weak, to poor."  

"Our hearts are broken," Hannah's dad, Darryl, mom, Young-Mi, and sister, Dana, said in a statement on the family's GiveForward.com fundraising page. "She is a pioneer in stem-cell technology and her impact will reach all corners of our beautiful Earth ... She's free now and with her Angel Wings she will perform many more miracles in Heaven."

Warren was the youngest patient to receive this incredible surgery, as well as the first child to have an organ made completely from synthetic materials and her own cells.

"She gave us over 34 months of everlasting memories," her family writes, via their website. "We will forever miss her infectious personality and miraculous strength and spirit."