The girl whose family fought tooth-and-nail to get her new lungs now has pneumonia in one of them, and the donated organ was known to be previously infected with the illness.
Sarah Murnaghan has developed pneumonia after the 10 year-old girl's parents battled for her right to get an adult lung transplant, ABC News reported.
"Yesterday was tough," Sarah's mother, Janet Murnaghan, wrote on her Facebook page, according to ABC. "Today she is more stable, but this is definitely a large set back."
Sarah underwent two lung transplants, after the first one did not take. The girl was said to be doing well after a second attempt at the procedure, but has once again fallen ill. The pneumonia could have been caused by the girl breathing in some of her stomach contents.
The donated lungs were known to be infected with pneumonia , but Sarah wasn't healthy enough to wait for a better option.
"They were Sarah's best and only hope," the Murnaghans wrote in a statement a few weeks ago. "The second transplant operation was truly a success."
Sarah also underwent surgery last week to fix her partially paralyzed diaphragm, which was a result of her previous transplant procedures.
Last month, Sarah was in critical condition and suffering from cystic fibrosis.
The condition is a product of genetics; it affects the cells responsible for producing sweat, mucus, and digestive fluids. Those who suffer from the condition often sustain so much respiratory damage they are not able to breathe, which is why the young girl needed new lungs.
Sarah was almost not able to get new lungs because of a rule stating children under 12 are last on the waiting list for adult lungs. While the girl would have been at the top of the list for pediatric lungs, the wait would be too long for her to survive.
In early June a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order which allowed Sarah to get new adult lungs.
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