Only a few windpipe , or trachea , transplants have ever been done . The breakthrough allowed Claudia Castillo , 30 , to receive a new section of trachea -- an airway essential for breathing -- without the risk that her body would reject the transplant . First , to Claudia Castillo , a year - old Colombian mother of two . Woman 's stem cells used to create new , tissue cells to grow new tissue . Doctors say procedure could become a new standard of treatment .
Only a few windpipe , or trachea , transplants have ever been done . First , to Claudia Castillo , a year - old Colombian mother of two . Woman 's stem cells used to create new , tissue cells to grow new tissue . Doctors say procedure could become a new standard of treatment .