Stormie Dawn Jones (May 30, 1977 – November 11, 1990) was the world's first recipient of a successful simultaneous

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

and

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

organ transplant Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ (anatomy), organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organ ...

. On February 14, 1984, under the direction of Dr. Thomas E. Starzl, Drs. Byers W. Shaw Jr. and Henry T. Bahnson replaced the six-year-old's heart and liver at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

.New York Times. February 20, 1990
New Liver for Stormie Jones
Retrieved on July 2, 2007. Stormie had a condition which raised her blood

cholesterol Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell mem ...

to 10 times normal levels. The condition, a severe form of familial hypercholesterolemia,Time Magazine. Mar. 26, 1984
A One-in-a-Million Worst Case
Retrieved on July 2, 2007. and the resultant high levels of

low density lipoprotein Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoprotein that transport all fat molecules around the body in extracellular water. These groups, from least dense to most dense, are chylomicrons (aka ULDL by the overall densit ...

that damaged her organs, gave her two heart attacks when she was six years old.New York Times. October 15, 1985
Young Texas transplant patient is among many aided by Nobel research
Retrieved on July 2, 2007. The case showed that the liver controls blood cholesterol and that high cholesterol is controllable,Findagrave.co
Stormie Dawn Jones
Retrieved on July 2, 2007. and was part of the research on cholesterol and the liver that won Joseph L. Goldstein and Michael S. Brown the

Nobel prize in medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according ...

in 1985. Stormie died on November 11, 1990.CBSNews.com
Transplant History
Retrieved on July 2, 2007. Her death was related to rejection of the heart transplant she had received in 1984.New York Times. November 17, 1990

Retrieved on July 2, 2007. There were very specific reasons for performing a combined heart and liver transplant in this young girl. Due to her inherited condition, Stormie's liver was unable to remove cholesterol, i.e.

LDL-cholesterol Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoprotein that transport all fat molecules around the body in extracellular water. These groups, from least dense to most dense, are chylomicrons (aka ULDL by the overall densit ...

, from her bloodstream. As a result, her LDL-cholesterol levels became very high and caused her two heart attacks by age six. On the other hand, the transplanted liver, being normal and healthy, was able to clear the LDL-cholesterol from her blood. Indeed, after the transplant, Stormie's LDL-cholesterol declined by 81%—from an astounding 988 to a near-normal 184 mg per deciliter.New England Journal of Medicine. December 27, 1984
Liver transplantation to provide low-density-lipoprotein receptors and lower plasma cholesterol in a child with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia
/ref> Since she was going to require lifelong

immunosuppressant Immunosuppressive drugs, also known as immunosuppressive agents, immunosuppressants and antirejection medications, are drugs that inhibit or prevent activity of the immune system. Classification Immunosuppressive drugs can be classified in ...

therapy anyway to prevent rejection of her transplanted liver, and since her heart had been severely damaged by her previous heart attacks, it was decided to also perform a heart transplant.

References

External links

1984 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette articles

1985 Pittsburgh Press article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Stormie 1977 births 1990 deaths Heart transplant recipients Liver transplant recipients American children People from Borger, Texas People from Pittsburgh Burials in Texas Child deaths