Wir überwinden Grenzen

In 2008, Angelina became the first infant to receive a heart transplant in Baden-Württemberg / A celebration marking her 18th birthday was attended by about 20 other heart transplant recipients / A call for organ donation ahead of German Organ Donation Da

Some stories begin with a heartbeat. Angelina’s story begins with a stranger’s heart starting to beat for her. On May 21, 2026, the young woman celebrated her 18th birthday. The celebration took place where it all began 18 years ago: at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg. Angelina was the first infant in Baden-Württemberg to receive a heart transplant. Today, she is an adult and in good health. Joining her were about 20 other young people who received a donor heart as children or teenagers. The gathering highlighted just how crucial a decision to donate organs can be for critically ill patients. Currently, 18 children and adolescents in Freiburg alone are waiting for a donor organ. 

“Angelina’s story moves us all. She is a living testament to what is possible when medicine and humanity come together. When we see her laughing today and making plans for her future, we know why we do all this work,” says Prof. Dr. Brigitte Stiller, Medical Director of the Department of Congenital Heart Defects and Pediatric Cardiology at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg. 

A new heart gave Angelina time to live

The story begins shortly after Angelina’s birth in 2008. She was diagnosed early on with a large hole in the heart’s septum—a congenital heart defect with severe heart failure, which was treated surgically about three weeks after birth. The surgery was successful. But barely four weeks later, a new, far more threatening diagnosis dashed all hope: a progressive heart muscle disease was destroying her tiny heart from the inside out. The only hope: a donor heart.

What often means a long period of anxiety was decided within just four weeks for Angelina’s family: a suitable donor heart was found. Angelina, who was still an infant at the time, received the transplant and survived. Since then, she has had to travel to Freiburg several times a year for outpatient checkups and take medication regularly. Otherwise, however, she is able to lead a largely normal life and has already successfully graduated from school. 

A Party for All Heart Transplant Recipients

Since 2008, 104 hearts have been transplanted in children at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg; in 2025 alone, six children were saved in this way. To mark her 18th birthday, the Center for Pediatrics at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg hosted a special celebration. In addition to the physicians and nurses who cared for Angelina at the time, around 20 other young heart transplant recipients—now between the ages of 16 and 30—attended. 

One heart transplant recipient describes it this way: “I received the greatest gift of my life from a person I didn’t know, who didn’t know me—and yet it is the most precious gift I have ever received. And I am very grateful that the donor made such an important decision to carry an organ donor card—in a way, I owe my life to that decision.”

The celebration coincides with a time of special public attention: June6, 2026, marks the annual German Organ Donation Day. It calls on people to engage with the topic and make a conscious decision for or against organ donation, but above all: to make a decision at all. Because in Germany, around 8,500 people are currently waiting for a life-saving organ. Every day, people die because a suitable organ is not available in time.

Caption: Angelina (5th from right) celebrated her 18th birthday together with other heart transplant recipients, Prof. Dr. Brigitte Stiller (right), Medical Director of the Department of Congenital Heart Defects and Pediatric Cardiology at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg, and the hospital team.
Image source: Medical Center – University of Freiburg