Doctors Transplant Baboon Heart into Premature Infant in Controversial 1984 Procedure

In November 1984, the nation was captivated by the story of "Baby Fae," a premature infant born with an underdeveloped heart. When the baby's condition worsened within days of birth, doctors at Loma Linda University Medical Center made the unprecedented decision to transplant a baboon's heart into the infant.

The controversial procedure sparked outrage from medical ethicists and animal rights activists, but the baby's parents, Teresa and Howard, were willing to try anything to save their daughter's life. "If we didn't try—this or some other procedure—we would always wonder if we had given our best shot at giving her life," Howard told PEOPLE magazine at the time.

Sadly, the baboon heart transplant was ultimately unsuccessful, and Baby Fae passed away 21 days after the historic operation. However, her parents expressed no regrets, stating that the procedure had "tripled her lifetime" and that they would choose the baboon heart again if it was the most compatible option. The doctors' groundbreaking efforts, though ultimately unsuccessful, paved the way for future advancements in pediatric heart transplants.