Sarah Murnaghan awake and responsive after lung transplant

FOX43 | Matt Bushey

From Jason Carroll and Chris Welch, (CNN) â€" Sarah Murnaghan, the Philadelphia girl who underwent a lung transplant last week following a court battle, is out of a coma and responsive.

The 10-year-old woke up Friday night, said Tracy Simon, a family spokeswoman.

Although she remains on a ventilator and is unable to talk, she is nodding and shaking her head in response to questions, Simon said.

Prior to her surgery, Sarah, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, was put in a medically induced coma to allow her body needed rest prior to the transplant surgery.

Her family fought to allow children to compete with adults waiting for lungs based on sickness in a case that has sparked a public debate. She received new lungs on June 12 after a six-hour surgery that included resizing lungs from a grownup.

“We expect it will be a long road, but we’re not going for easy, we’re going for possible. And an organ donor has made this possible for her,” the family said in a statement.

The parents’ push for an organ transplant policy change has thrust the issue of who gets donated organs into the national spotlight. This month, the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network’s executive committee approved a one-year change that makes children younger than 12 eligible for priority on adult lung transplant lists.

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