Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Baby Theresa’s Eyes Donated to Research

The last hope that some of Baby Theresa’s organs could be donated to ailing children vanished in Miami when scientists determined that her eyes were too small for transplant. The infant’s eyes instead will be used for genetic research, said Mary Anne Taylor, executive director of the Florida Lions Eye Bank. Her vital organs had deteriorated and were not suitable for transplant when Theresa Ann Pearson’s tiny heart and lungs gave out. But doctors had hoped they could use her corneas. The baby was born last week without a brain although she had a brain stem, which allowed her heart and lungs to function briefly. Her parents waged an unsuccessful legal battle to declare her brain dead and harvest her organs to help other babies.