Only a few windpipe , or similar , operations have ever been done . Transplant given to Claudia Castillo , a 30-year - old Colombian mother of two . 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 . Castillo 's stem cells used to create cartilage , tissue cells to cover new windpipe . Some believe this could become a new method of surgery .
Only a few windpipe , or similar , operations have ever been done . Transplant given to Claudia Castillo , a 30-year - old Colombian mother of two . Castillo 's stem cells used to create cartilage , tissue cells to cover new windpipe . Some believe this could become a new method of surgery .