Out of a tragedy comes new life.

A 2-day-old baby born in Hunan Province has become China's youngest organ donor after the infant's kidneys was successfully transplanted to a dying girl suffering from chronic renal failure.

The newborn baby's parents decided to donate her kidneys after she died of anoxic encephalopathy, neonatal asphyxia and lung infection. The parents said they wanted to let their baby stay in the world - even though in a different way.

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The infant's small kidneys, measuring less than 4 centimeters long, were successfully transplanted by surgeons from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. The recipient of the kidney, a 9-year old girl idenitified as Huang Jing, who has been suffering from kidney failure since she was a toddler, expressed happiness and excitement about the prospect of going to school.

The operation was spearheaded by Dr. Peng Longkai, the director of the organ transplant department of the hospital. Dr. Peng said that the operation was complex as it involved dealing with tiny blood vessels. However, he is positive that in the next three months, the kidney will grow in Huang's body.

Technically speaking, kidneys reach their optimum function at 37 weeks inside the womb, making them transplantable from that time.

In China, organ donors are scarce. According to the national kidney transplant registry, in 2011, of over a million people were in need of a kidney and only 5,253 patients received one. This means hopeful recipients only have a 0.5% chance every year.

Kidneys remain to be the most in-demand organ in the country, accounting for two-thirds of the 1.5 million patients in need of organs.

Tagsorgan donor, organ transplant, kidney transplant, Second Xiangya Hospital