This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process
and policies.
Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
Liver transplant recipient marks 25th anniversary
byBrian Witte
In this Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, photo, Alyssa Riggan, who was the first in the United States to successfully receive a liver from a living donor 25 years ago, poses with her husband, Benjamin, in their home in Severn, Md. As Riggan marks the 25th anniversary of her successful surgery on Thursday, she says its success has enabled her to live a normal life almost completely untouched by what was an often-fatal disorder. Riggan was 21 months old when her mother, Teri Smith, donated more than a third of her liver to save her daughter from a disorder called biliary atresia. (AP Photo/ Brian Witte)
× close
In this Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, photo, Alyssa Riggan, who was the first in the United States to successfully receive a liver from a living donor 25 years ago, poses with her husband, Benjamin, in their home in Severn, Md. As Riggan marks the 25th anniversary of her successful surgery on Thursday, she says its success has enabled her to live a normal life almost completely untouched by what was an often-fatal disorder. Riggan was 21 months old when her mother, Teri Smith, donated more than a third of her liver to save her daughter from a disorder called biliary atresia. (AP Photo/ Brian Witte)
Alyssa Riggan hasn't dwelled on being the nation's first successful recipient of a liver from a living donor.
As she marks the 25th anniversary of her successful surgery Thursday, she says its success has enabled her to live a normal life almost completely untouched by what was an often-fatal disorder.
Riggan was 21 months old when her mother, Teri Smith, donated more than a third of her liver to save her daughter from a disorder called biliary atresia.
The procedure helped pave the way for routine live-donor transplants. It expanded the options for children with liver disorders, many of whom died while waiting for a liver from a deceased donor. It was first used only in small children. It's now used for older children, and at some transplant centers, for adults.