A gutsy little Irish American girl, Sarah Murnaghan from Philadelphia, has forced a major change in the way kids under 12 are treated for lung transplants.

Sarah has cystic fibrosis and will die unless she receives a new set of lungs in the next few weeks.
A U.S. federal judge Michael Baylson granted the family request and ordered the girl be made eligible for new lungs.

Her father Fran Murnaghan praised the decision and stated it meant that Sarah now had an excellent shot as her score of 78 was very high for patients waiting for a transplant.

On Thursday May 30, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that two Pennsylvania Republicans - U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan and Sen. Pat Toomey - asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to bypass organ allocation rules and help Sarah get a life-saving lung.

However Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius refused the request but the judicial ruling means that Sarah now has a chance.

Her mother, Janet Murnaghan, said the family is delighted by the ruling, "We are beyond thrilled," she said, adding, "Obviously we still need a match."

The Newtown Square family is challenging organ transplant rules that say children under age 12 must wait for pediatric lungs to become available. The Murnaghans say that it rarely happens, and they want the rule changed for all children in Sarah's situation.

Here's the Fox news report: