Divine intervention just in time for Christmas saved the life of a five-month-old infant who desperately needed a liver transplant.
Joseph McCabe, from Waukesha, Wisconsin and the father of baby Daniel, said they were blessed with a Christmas miracle when his son was able to receive a liver transplant just 40 minutes after they entered the baby's name on the hospital list, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
The liver came from an adult male in the Midwest who died just moments after the McCabes registered their son for transplant at the Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago.
Right after receiving the donated liver, doctors quickly performed a delicate six-hour surgery on Daniel, saving his life.
With tears in his eyes, Joseph said he believes that would not have happened without "some kind of Divine Intervention."
Joseph's wife Melody said for the first time they could see their son Daniel without yellow skin following the successful transplant.
Daniel became one of the tiniest patients ever to receive a liver transplant at the hospital. His doctors said they were incredibly fortunate that the organ became available so quickly.
Justin Boese, an organ procurement coordinator at the hospital, said what happened was simply amazing. "This is one of the more incredible things that have happened in the five years that I've been here. Patients even in the most critical statuses can go from waiting from a few days, to months, to years," he said.
Paediatric liver specialist Dr. Riccardo Superina agreed that Daniel's case was extraordinary. "While this happened very quickly and very fortunately, there are people who die every day because there's not an organ available," he said.
The McCabe couple and their three other children celebrated Christmas and New Year inside the hospital as they watched over Daniel.
"This is a Christmas obviously we'll never forget," Joseph said.
Doctors said the unidentified male who donated his liver saved not only Daniel's life but that of another patient as well. This was because they only used about 20 percent of the donated liver in Daniel's case. The doctors transplanted the remaining liver into an adult patient.
