Boy Receives Lung Transplant, Doing ‘Fine’ | NBC 10 Philadelphia

By David Chang

|  Monday, Dec 30, 2013  |  Updated 4:32 PM EST

The family of a young boy who was in need of a lung transplant revealed some good news on Monday. Javier Acosta, 12, of the Bronx, New York, received a lung transplant on October 13 and is doing “fine,” according to his mother Milagros Martinez.

“I waited to share this news until after he recovered from surgery,” Martinez wrote. “Although his prognosis is good, Javier is still in the hospital adjusting to his new lungs. “

Over the summer, Martinez filed a lawsuit, asking a federal judge to add her son, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, to the national transplant network’s adult waiting list for a donated lung. The lawsuit came after Sarah Murnaghan, a young girl who was also in need of a transplant, was placed on the list. Both children were staying at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“We’re not trying to skip ahead of anyone,” Martinez said last June. “We just want him to have a fighting chance.”

Martinez claimed the family only wanted the availability of a transplant to be based on how sick the patient is, not the age.

“If someone is sicker than him then the lung should go to them,” she said. “This should be based on the severity of his condition. That’s all we’re asking.”

Martinez’s lawsuit claimed that Acosta’s brother was only 11-years-old when he died while waiting for a lung transplant two years ago.

In her written release, Martinez thanked the donor, the donor’s family as well as the doctors and staff at CHOP.

“We offer our sincere thanks to those who helped us and supported us and prayed for us. Happy New Year,” she wrote.

via Boy Receives Lung Transplant, Doing ‘Fine’ | NBC 10 Philadelphia.