Girl Waiting For Donor Suffers Heart Attack

An 8-year-old Japanese girl waiting for a donor heart suffered a heart attack Wednesday and was placed on a heart-lung machine as her condition deteriorated.

Miyuki Monobe of Shinagawa, Japan, who was born with a large hole in her heart and a narrow aorta, was put on a list for donations Monday with top priority, but no donor hearts have become available.

Doctors say they do not know how much longer she can survive, since her lungs, kidneys and other organs are suffering strain from her current heart’s inability to pump blood efficiently.

She came to California on Saturday because transplants are virtually nonexistent in Japan.