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Teresa Beauclair knew her premature daughter Baby Fae was only given weeks to live. She had two options. Teresa remembers, "She had long, long fingers, but the nurses always said she was going to be a piano player. My options that were given to me were, You can leave her here and let her die, or you can take her home and let her die."
At the time – 25 years ago – there were only a few doctors interested in infants born with fatal heart defects. Leonard Bailey, MD, was one of them. Dr. Bailey, says in a video interview, "Up until the 1980s, none of these babies survived, none of them. And, so we began to actually study the possibility of cross-species transplantation using baby baboons." Teresa Beauclair remembers thinking, "I wondered if the doctor was a mad scientist."
Stephanie's life marked the beginning of successful infant heart transplant surgery. Unfortunately, Baby Fae died 21 days later of a kidney infection.
The controversial surgery sparked long standing ethical debates with animal rights groups regarding scientific experiments. The Humane Society and PETA claim Goobers the baboon sacrificed her life for Baby Fae. The controversy was the subject of discussion during the Loma Linda University Annual Postgraduate Convention.
According to Adventist News Network, the official news agency of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, "Baby Fae's mother, Teresa, is now working to put herself through nursing school in Kansas, a university spokesperson said. She and Bailey will reunite October 31 as the university debuts a documentary titled Stephanie's Heart: The Story of Baby Fae." Watch the amazing video trailer here.
Sources: InsideSocal.com; postchronicle.com; news.adventist.org; wikipedia.com
Written by Donna Diegel
Exclusive to HULIQ.com
Posted October 26th, 2009 by Donna Diegel
