Infant survives heart transplant; record broken

Dong Nianguo, who is in charge of the cardiovascular disease department of the hospital, said doctors needed to place hundreds of stitches spaced at 1 or 2 millimeters, for a donated heart as small as an infant's fist.

"The younger the infant, the more difficult the surgery. Luckily, the donated heart is very suitable for Chen Chen physically," he said, adding that the girl still faces many challenges such as infection and rejection reaction.

In 2014, three-month-old Tian You received a transplanted heart in the hospital. Now he is healthy and outgoing. In 2019, 66-day-old Rui Rui also survived the surgery there.

Xia Jiahong, deputy director of the hospital, said there are about 500 children's heart transplants every year globally, and China has about 60. The difficulty in surgery and care makes it hard to meet demand for treatment for end-stage heart failure among children, Xia said. The hospital has completed 150 children's heart transplants since 2008 — 40 percent of the country's total.