Judge's Ruling Clears Way for Girl to Receive Lung

Federal judge says Sarah Murnaghan eligible to be on adult donor list
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 5, 2013 4:55 PM CDT
Judge's Ruling Clears Way for Girl to Receive Lung
Sarah Murnaghan in Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with her father, Fran, left, and mother, Janet.   (AP Photo/Murnaghan Family)

The odds that 10-year-old Sarah Murnaghan will get a life-saving lung transplant just shot up dramatically. A federal judge in Philadelphia ruled this afternoon that Sarah is eligible to receive a lung from the adult donor list, reports AP. Normally, kids younger than 12 can't do so, but the judge ruled that Sarah's condition—she is thought to have just weeks to live because of cystic fibrosis—warrants the decision. Yesterday, health secretary Kathleen Sebelius called the case "agonizing" but said she could not interfere with the donor rules. The judge, however, ordered Sebelius to suspend them for at least 10 days, reports NBC News. He set a hearing for June 14. (More Kathleen Sebelius stories.)

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