A 13-year-old boy who received a heart transplant months ago has died on the first day of school.

WCPO-TV in Cincinnati reports Peyton West died Thursday. His family says he was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and needed three open-heart surgeries before his fifth birthday. He had to have a transplant when his health deteriorated in March.

Peyton’s father says he seemed fine Thursday. He smiled for a photo that morning before leaving their home in Goshen, about 50 kilometres northeast of Cincinnati.

On the way to school, Peyton told his father he didn’t feel “right”. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. His family says they still don’t know what happened.

Family and friends held a prayer vigil Thursday night to honor Peyton.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a severe abnormality that without correction may cause death. A Health24 review shows that, in this defect, the left side of the heart is not completely developed. The heart often cannot supply the body with the oxygen-rich blood it needs. Babies suffering from this disorder may look normal at birth but within days develop symptoms such as blue skin, trouble breathing, and insufficient eating.

According to Health24 the disorder is three times as common among women who took sulfonamides and four times more frequent among those who used nitrofurantoin. It occurs in one in every 42 000 births.