Lung Recipient Stacy Sewell Dies at 24 : Quartz Hill: Both parents were donors to the cystic fibrosis victim, who lived her last two years to the fullest.

Stacy Sewell, the Quartz Hill woman who in 1993 underwent landmark surgery to receive lung transplants from both of her parents, has died of complications from bacterial pneumonia, her family said Tuesday.

Sewell, whose own lungs were ravaged by a lifelong battle against cystic fibrosis, died Saturday--her 24th birthday--at USC University Hospital in Los Angeles, where the transplant took place on Jan. 29, 1993.

The operation marked the first time two living donors had been used in a lung transplant. It was also the first lung transplant involving a cystic fibrosis patient.

The surgery set off a debate about medical ethics, because it put three lives in jeopardy at once.

But Stacy Sewell’s mother, Barbara Sewell, said Tuesday that she and her husband, Jim, never had second thoughts about the procedure, which was performed when Stacy was believed to be only days away from death.

“I would do it again with no regrets whatsoever,” Barbara Sewell said.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder that affects about 30,000 Americans. It causes thick, sticky mucus to build, leading to chronic infections in the lungs and other parts of the body. Stacy had trouble breathing from the time she was born.

When she left the hospital about a month after surgery, she told a reporter: “It’s so nice to be able to breathe like a normal person. . . . I love air! Breathing is the most wonderful feeling that I could ever imagine.”

Soon afterward, she returned to her part-time job as a sales clerk at a Mervyn’s department store in Lancaster and began taking a full schedule of classes at Antelope Valley College.

In an interview a year after the operation, Stacy, a petite woman with wavy brown hair, said the surgery had given her the freedom to lead a near-normal life. She played tennis, rode a bicycle and stayed out late with her friends, playing gin rummy and poker.

“I did not like the way my life was,” she said at the time. “I didn’t like being dependent on so many people, and I didn’t like being housebound--which really drives me nuts.”

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Until about 10 days ago, she maintained this active lifestyle, her mother said.

“Stacy lived those two years with more enthusiasm than I think most people live their whole lives with,” Barbara Sewell said. “She enjoyed every minute of every day. She crammed a whole lifetime into those two years.”

On March 26, Stacy felt ill and went to the hospital for tests. Two days later, her condition deteriorated and she had to be sedated and placed on a respirator, her mother said.

Even though the lung transplant surgery allowed her to breathe more freely, Stacy still had cystic fibrosis, which made her vulnerable to deadly infections such as pneumonia, her mother said.

“It was very fast, which I thank God for. She didn’t have to suffer a lot.”

Dr. Vaughn A. Starnes, the physician who led the team that performed the historic transplant, said in a written statement: “Stacy was an extraordinary and courageous woman who has given hope to so many patients suffering from respiratory failure around the world who are currently awaiting lung transplantation.”

He added: “I was extremely impressed with her spirit and positive attitude. She had taken full advantage of her second lease on life and lived every day to its fullest.”

Starnes has performed living-donor lung transplants on other victims of cystic fibrosis since the Sewell operation, but the surgery remains relatively uncommon not only because of the risks, but because not all patients are suitable. And the procedure is not a cure, medical experts say.

“It’s still incredibly experimental,” said Helen M. Johnson, executive director of the Southern California-Nevada-Utah chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. “It’s not the answer to ending the disease.”

In lieu of flowers, the family urged that donations be sent to the foundation, situated at 2150 Towncenter Place, Suite 120, Anaheim, Calif. 92806.

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In accordance with Stacy’s wishes, her organs were offered for donation and her remains cremated, her family said. A public memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at USC University Hospital, 1500 San Pablo St., Los Angeles.

Also in accordance with her wishes, family members and invited guests were planning to remember her at a private celebration. “Stacy did not want anyone to mourn her illness or her death,” Barbara Sewell said. “She wanted us to have an Irish-style wake. We’re going to have one. It’s to celebrate her life, not her death.”

In addition to her parents, Stacy Sewell is survived by her sister, Ritchey Sewell of Washington state, and her brother, Craig Sewell of San Diego.