Five Organ Transplant Patient Fatema Al Ansari Gives Birth to Miracle Baby in Miami

A woman who received five new organs by transplant in 2007 has given birth to a baby girl - the first known case of its kind.

Fatema Al Ansari, 26, had her liver, pancreas, stomach, small and large intestine transplanted in the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami in 2007.

Six years on, she has had a baby by caesarean section in the same hospital and said it was "the best feeling in the world". She named the baby Alkadi after giving birth on 26 February.

Originally from Qatar, Ansari plans to return to her home country in a few weeks.

According to figures from the Intestinal Transplant Association, just over 600 people have received five organ transplants.

Shalih Yasin, Ansari's obstetrician, said there have been a few cases of women giving birth after a double organ transplant, but five is unheard of.

"We have searched all medical literature all over the world for any pregnancy that had five multi-transplants and this is the first case to our knowledge," he said, adding that finding a patient who has had five organs transplanted but is healthy enough to have a baby is "a miracle by itself".

Not an easy pregnancy

Ansari was in Miami when she was diagnosed with a blood clot in a major vein in her intestine and needed transplant surgery.

She was forced to terminate an earlier pregnancy after her diagnoses and thought she would never be able to have a baby.

Ansari and her husband, Khalifa Alhayal, decided to get pregnant through IVF. During her pregnancy, she suffered from a few complications including flu, bleeding and discomfort.

"It's not an easy pregnancy to go through. One has to make sure the transplant organ is not rejected, that the medications are safe to the baby," she said.

Thomas Fishbein, executive director at the Georgetown Transplant Institute, said Ansari's pregnancy was excellent news for the field.

Her own doctors said she may be able to try for another baby and her case offers hope to other multi-organ transplant patients.