Eddie “Baby Moses” Anguiano, the world’s first and longest-living infant-to-infant heart transplant recipient, returned to Loma Linda University Health earlier this month to celebrate his 40th birthday and reunite with the care team that made medical history.
The 40th anniversary celebration welcomed members of the Loma Linda University International Heart Institute, former transplant patients, their families, and hospital staff on Tuesday, November 4.
Each paediatric heart transplant patient in attendance proudly wore a number on their name tag, representing their place in the legacy that began with Baby Moses.
The event featured a panel discussion with members of Anguiano’s original care team and current physicians, reflecting on the past and exploring the future of heart surgery and transplantation.
Surprise cake
The celebration concluded with a surprise birthday cake for Anguiano, who will officially turn 40 on November 16. Today, Anguiano lives in Henderson, Nevada with his mother and grandmother and continues to thrive with the same transplanted heart that saved him as a newborn.
He loves to watch movies and listen to music of every kind.
“He hears a song once and already knows all the words,” says Anguiano’s mother, Maria Aguirre. “He’s everyone’s friend, the neighbours, the cashiers, the people at the casino, they all know Eddie,” Aguirre said.
Anguiano was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe congenital defect that left his heart too weak to function. Doctors told his parents there was nothing more they could do.
Then, at just four days old, a call changed everything. Leonard Bailey, MD, the world-renowned pediatric heart surgeon who made global headlines a year earlier for transplanting a baboon heart into Baby Fae, had a new opportunity: a human heart that was a perfect match for Anguiano.
On November 20, 1985, Bailey performed the first successful infant-to-infant heart transplant on Anguiano, who became known as Baby Moses, at Loma Linda University Medical Centre. The surgery gave him a second chance at life and revolutionised pediatric heart care worldwide.
Paving the way
Bailey, who passed away in 2019, paved the way for modern infant heart transplantation and inspired hospitals around the globe to adopt similar lifesaving procedures. Since Anguiano’s historic surgery, 570 pediatric heart transplants have been performed at Loma Linda University Health.
Anees Razzouk, MD, a pediatric congenital and cardiac surgeon at LLUH, who trained under Bailey and worked alongside him for 30 years, reflected on the ongoing legacy.
“The surgery may last only hours, but the impact lasts a lifetime. Our mission is to make sure that lifetime is long and healthy,” Razzouk said.
Antoine Sakr, MD, adult heart transplant cardiologist, discussed advancements in adult cardiac transplants. He stated the adult program would not have been possible without the first pediatric heart transplants. The program continues to grow and utilises innovative technologies that support advanced cardiac care.
Natalie Shwaish, MD, pediatric heart transplant cardiologist, shared that the hospital recently became the first centre on the West Coast to perform partial heart transplants, a groundbreaking procedure that uses living heart tissue from donors who are unable to give a full heart.
This new therapy offers children with valve defects a replacement that can grow naturally with the patient and potentially last a lifetime, representing a major step forward in transplant medicine.
