Baby defied odds, lived 9 months

BUCHAREST, Romania – A Romanian baby born with virtually no intestines, and who confounded doctors by tenaciously clinging to life and captured international attention and offers of medical help, died on Thursday. He was 9 months old.

In April, following an Associated Press article, people in Europe and the United States began offering funds and medical expertise to help Baby Andrei get a complicated intestine transplant, and discussions about arranging the procedure were ongoing.

But Dr. Catalin Cirstoveanu, the Romanian pediatrician in charge of the baby’s care, said the attempts were too slow for the boy, who spent most of his life in the intensive care unit of the Marie Curie Hospital in Bucharest. Andrei’s condition deteriorated after an operation 10 days ago, the doctor said.

“He fought for 9 months, but it was too late for him,” said his mother Cristina Mistreanu, 15. “We hoped a lot that the doctors would come from the U.S. to operate on him, but now there is no hope left.”

AP