Israeli doctors on Wednesday successfully transplanted a portion of a liver into the body of a seven month old infant. Doctors said that the operation saved the infant’s life. A day later, the infant was awake and in good shape, they said.

The operation took place in Schneider Children’s Hospital early Wednesday, to replace a non-functioning liver that was unable to process bile. The infant has been hospitalized since birth, and it was kept alive by daily draining of bile. Doctors decided that the infant’s best chance was to transplant a portion of his mother’s liver to replace the non-functioning one in his body. While doctors would have preferred to wait on the operation, a sudden serious deterioration in the infant’s condition made the operation an immediate necessity.

Parents of the infant were very thankful to hospital staff for their efforts.

Most of the organ transplants for children in Israel are conducted at Schneider Children’s Hospital. It is also one of the few hospitals in the world that can conduct more than one such operation at the same time. So far, the hospital has conducted over 500 juvenile and infant transplants of all types, with success rates rivaling those of the world’s top institutions.