A six-day-old infant's kidneys and liver cells were donated to two different patients after the girl's heart stopped beating, marking a breakthrough in neonatal care, BBC News reported on Wednesday.
There is potential for similar donations, but they are prohibited under UK law.
Doctors said the case began when the baby was born in very poor health, according to a review in the journal Archives of Diseases in Childhood. She had been cut off from oxygen before birth and had suffered severe brain damage when she was resuscitated by doctors.
The girl's organs were donated to a patient with renal failure after she died. Her liver cells were given to someone else with a failing liver in a second operation. The procedures were extremely delicate, as baby kidneys are only about 2 inches long.
Details on the patients weren't released, but doctors said neonatal organs could be donated to infants as well as children and even full-grown adults. Babies generally need organs from other babies due to their size.
"We are pleased the first transplant of organs from a newborn in the UK was a success and we praise the brave decision of the family to donate their baby's organs," said James Neuberger of NHS Blood and Transplant.
In the UK, NHS figures show that 194 young people under age 18 are waiting for a transplant. There are 15 babies under age 2 on the list as well, Medical News Today reported. A large number of babies that die in neonatal care may be able to become organ donors in the future. Babies make up a small portion of the transplant list, but have the highest mortality rate.
