Two infants who underwent an unprecedented domino heart valve transplant at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital were featured on the Today show. Mia Skaats and Brooklyn Civil, who received the heart valves from Mia, appeared with their parents who recounted the moments leading up to the pioneering procedure. A domino transplant involves one patient receiving an organ transplant and then donating a healthy organ or parts of an organ to another patient. For Mia, who had cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle thickening and weakening condition, she received a full heart transplant, making it possible for her healthy valves to be transplanted into Brooklyn’s heart.
Brooklyn was born with truncus arteriosus, a rare condition where her heart lacked a pulmonary valve and aortic valve. Instead, she was born with a truncal valve and a hole between the pumping chambers of her heart. Both babies are recovering well from the transplant surgeries. The parents of Mia expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to donate Mia’s heart valves to Brooklyn, emphasizing that they didn’t hesitate to make the decision to help someone else in need.
