Baby Receives Lifesaving Five-Organ Transplant

MIAMI -- A 9-month-old baby is recovering in Jackson Memorial Hospital following a five-organ transplant.

Othello Smith was brought to Miami from his Jacksonville home. He received the multiple-organ transplant on Wednesday.

His mother expressed her gratitude to the family of a two-year-old near Philadelphia who donated the lifesaving organs to Othello.

Doctors transplanted a liver, spleen, stomach, small intestine and pancreas.

Othello was still in intensive care Thursday evening, and may spend up to six months at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

His mother maintains a Web site about his life and progress at allothello.com.

Organ Donations Save Lives

It's estimated that in South Florida alone, about 300 people are on the waiting list for a liver transplant, hundreds more for other organs. Experts say each day more than 60 people receive an organ transplant, but at least another 16 people on the waiting list die because not enough organs are available.

There are several ways you can register as an organ donor. One way is to sign up the next time you renew your driver's license. You must be at least 18 years old to sign up as an organ donor. Those younger than 18 can register with parental permission. There is no upper limit for signing up.

You can get a donor card and more information about organ donation by calling the Miami Organ Procurement Organization based at the University of Miami at (800) 232-2892.

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This article posted May 3, 2003.