London: The life of a less-than-a-year-old cancer-hit baby was saved when doctors transplanted the liver of a 37-year-old man in her.
Karen and Carl -- parents of now two-year-old Ellie-Mae Wolfenden -- celebrate an extra birthday each year for their daughter, marking the day of her surgery as the day she was given a second life, the Daily Mail reported.
"I asked where the liver had come from because I didn`t like to think of another child dying, but it was actually from a 37-year-old man. People think it has to be from another child but it doesn`t, the liver will grow with her. They cut a bit off and put it inside," said 38-year-old Karen, from Cheshire.
Karen took Ellie-Mae to doctors in June 2009 when she noticed a swelling in her stomach. After an examination, she was referred for a scan which revealed a mass on her liver.
The family were told Ellie-Mae had stage four hepatoblastoma and the cancer had spread to her lungs.
Within days, the baby was put on a cycle of chemotherapy and her parents were told she would require a full liver transplant.
She had a surgery and was allowed home in January 2010. She has since made a full recovery.
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