Young boy whose heart transplant story went viral dies aged five

A five-year-old who touched people around the world with his sweet reaction to news he’d be receiving a heart transplant has died.

Ari Schultz died at at Boston Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts one month after his heart transplant. His family announced the news on Facebook, simply writing “Ari passed away peacefully this evening listening to the Red Sox,” alongside a picture of the boy.

Ari was born with hydoplastic left heart syndrome and aortic stenosis. The conditions were discovered while his mother was pregnant, and he had two successful operations even before his birth - the first person ever to do so.

In March this year, after being on the wait list, he finally received his heart transplant. Two weeks later, he suffered a reaction and went into cardiac arrest. He survived, and was eventually released from hospital. He remained on oxygen at home, and his parents started a campaign to try to save other lives in his honour.