Story summary
On September 11, 2001, while 3,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks across the US, a six-month-old baby named Kareena in Houston urgently needed a liver transplant. The donor organ was located nearly 800 miles away in Nashville, but all civilian flights had been grounded due to security concerns.
To save Kareena's life, Tennessee Air National Guard stepped in and transported the liver from Nashville to Ellington Field near Houston aboard a C-130 cargo plane. The organ, packed in ice inside a small box, was then transferred by soldiers to Texas Children’s Hospital where doctors were waiting for it.
Kareena had been born with biliary atresia, a congenital defect preventing bile from draining properly, severely damaging her liver. By the time of the transplant, she had spent most of her short life in medical care and was too ill to leave the hospital. Dr John Goss, Texas Children’s Hospital's medical director for transplant services, confirmed the critical nature of this intervention 25 years later.
Written for “September 11 Liver Donation Miracle” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
On September 11, 2001, while the US was dealing with the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, a six-month-old baby in Houston was fighting for her life.
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baby → deal → life
Kareena needed a liver transplant, but the donor organ was nearly 800 miles away in Nashville, and the civilian flights across the US had been grounded.
The liver, packed in ice inside a box roughly two feet by one foot, eventually reached Houston aboard a C-130 cargo plane, Houston Chronicle reported.
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Chronicle → need → plane
The aircraft, operated by the Tennessee Air National Guard, carried the organ from Nashville to Ellington Field.
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aircraft → operate → Field
From there, soldiers took it to Texas Children’s Hospital, where doctors were waiting to perform the transplant.
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doctors → take → transplant
Kareena had been born with biliary atresia, a congenital defect in which the ducts that drain bile from the liver do not form.
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that → bear → liver
Because the bile could not drain properly, her liver became badly damaged at a very young age.
uncertain
liver → drain → age
By September 2001, she had spent most of her short life in the Texas Medical Center and was too sick to go home.
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she → spend → Center
“She was too ill to leave the hospital,” Dr John Goss, the hospital’s medical director for transplant services, told Houstone Chronicle, 25 years after the transplant.
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Goss → leave → transplant
“She was very sick, and she wasn’t going to survive very long without a transplant,” he added.
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he → go → transplant
The chance of a transplant came on the night of September 10, when Goss received a call from his former colleague at Vanderbilt University, Dr Ravi Chari.
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Goss → come → University
A liver that could match the six-month-old’s size and blood type was available in Nashville.
uncertain
that → match → Nashville
Transplant disrupted by 9/11
The original plan was Chari would remove the liver in Nashville, Tennessee Donor Services would arrange a charter flight to Houston, and Goss would transplant the organ into Kareena.
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Goss → disrupt → Kareena
That plan changed the next morning.
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plan → change → ?
Goss was treating adult patients at St Luke’s when the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York.
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plane → treat → York
He later recalled, “It’s weird.
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It → recall → ?
I can still remember we were in a patient room when the first jet flew into the tower.”
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jet → remember → tower
A second plane hit the World Trade Center soon after.
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plane → hit → Center
As the attacks unfolded in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded every civilian aircraft in the country.
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Administration → unfold → country
The charter flight that was supposed to carry the organ was no longer
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that → suppose → organ
Jill Grandas, who was then a coordinator with Tennessee Donor Services and is now its CEO, was told that the flight had been cancelled.
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flight → tell → Services
A road journey to Houston was considered but rejected.
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journey → consider → Houston
At the time, the organ could not survive the roughly 12-hour drive.
uncertain
organ → survive → drive
Grandas then went to the mail room, took out a phone book and called the air-traffic control tower at Nashville International Airport.
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Grandas → go → Airport
She explained that a baby in Houston would die without the liver waiting in the operating room.
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liver → explain → room
The supervisor who answered understood the situation.
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who → answer → situation
Grandas later learnt that the woman had a relative on a transplant waiting list.
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woman → learn → list
Within minutes, another option emerged.
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option → emerge → minutes
The Tennessee Air National Guard agreed to fly the liver to Houston.
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Guard → agree → Houston
“It was a feeling of joy in the midst of something so tragic,” Grandas said.
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Grandas → say → something
“We were determined that we weren’t going to let another person die as a result of that attack.”
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person → go → attack
Kareena takes selfie with the doctor who saved her life 25 years ago
Military plane carried the tiny liver
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plane → take → liver
Nine National Guard members boarded a C-130 Hercules aircraft and flew the liver to Houston.
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members → board → Houston
The aircraft can carry up to 47,000 pounds, but on that flight its important cargo was a liver small enough to fit inside a box packed with ice.
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cargo → carry → ice
The plane landed at Ellington Field within a few hours.
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plane → land → hours
At noon, the organ was handed over to another group of soldiers.
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organ → hand → soldiers
They drove it towards Texas Children’s Hospital in a military vehicle.
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They → drive → vehicle
The liver then reached Goss, who was waiting to perform the transplant.
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who → reach → transplant
By that evening, Kareena had received the organ.
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Kareena → receive → organ
“Even though there was the horrific event and it was meant to hurt a lot of people, there were still very good people who were not going to let it completely hurt us,” Goss said.
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Goss → be → us
“In the end, the good will win.”
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good → win → end
…and 21 more, not listed.
