Boy has historic heart

Like a lot of eight-year-old boys, Caleb Schroeder likes shooting hoops, practising soccer and playing street hockey with his friends. But unlike most, he’s also a living piece of medical history — one whose successful heart transplant eight years ago could pave the way for scientific breakthroughs of the highest order.

In 1996, Caleb became the first human being to successfully undergo a heart transplant involving an organ from a donor whose blood type didn’t match his.The procedure was risky, and Caleb’s parents had to take an extreme leap of faith after being contacted by Dr. Lori West, a researcher at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.”She explained this theory of hers, of mismatched heart transplants,” said Caleb’s mom, Rita Schroeder. “She said she had only done it on mice but she felt it was a viable option for Caleb.”Schroeder and husband Harry were apprehensive but had already waited months for a matching donor. With time running out, they signed the experimental surgery form and — fittingly — Caleb got his new heart on Valentine’s Day 1996.Just as West had theorized, Caleb’s immune system wasn’t yet mature enough to start creating the antibodies that typically cause humans to reject “foreign” organs, namely those with incompatible blood types.SCIENTIFIC HISTORYInstead, Caleb’s body adapted — accepting the new heart and earning the youngster a spot in scientific history at the same time.Since Caleb’s surgery, 19 more Canadian infants have undergone the same sort of transplants. All were successful, although three of the babies later died from ailments unrelated to their immune systems.The operations give West hope that one day adults may be able to accept organs from mismatched donors or from animals, as she explains on the Sick Kids website.”The immune system of these infants is able to reprogram itself to consider foreign blood group antigens the way it considers self antigens,” West said. “The next stage of this research is to develop a tool that will allow us to intentionally induce immune system tolerance so that … incompatible heart transplants will be possible in older patients.”The findings could also drastically reduce the number of infants who die while waiting for appropriate organs, West said.As for Caleb, his mom says he’s had a few medical scares over the years but nothing related to his heart.Above all, she says the transplant has given her and her husband an even deeper appreciation for both Caleb and his older sister, Katrina.”We just embrace the days and enjoy the days that we have, because who knows what’s going to happen later on,” she said. “We live by that.” (Source: CNEWS Canada, Oct 2004)