"I have to tell him, 'You're not going to die tomorrow,' "Mother of ailing N.Y.C. boy

Javier Acosta, 11, is the second child allowed to be considered for an adult transplant list in Pennsylvania. (Pepper Hamilton LLP)

Javier Acosta, his mother said Saturday afternoon, needed a lung transplant "yesterday."

The 11-year-old New York City boy, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, is one of two children at the forefront of a legal battle to allow them to receive adult lung transplants.

Organ-donation policies put children under 12 at the bottom of the list to receive adult lungs. But a federal judge's ruling has bought Javier and fellow Children's Hospital of Philadelphia patient Sarah Murnaghan, 10, a temporary window during which they are eligible.

National transplant leaders meet Monday to decide whether to set aside the restriction.

A federal hearing is set for Friday, when the temporary ruling expires.

Steve Harvey, the lawyer for both families, said they were asking that their children be considered for transplants based on condition, not age.

Javier's mother, Milagros Martinez, told reporters outside Children's Hospital on Saturday that her son was stable but still ailing; he's been in the hospital for two months. Sarah Murnaghan's aunt, Sharon Ruddock, said her niece was "doing OK."

Martinez said her older son, also a cystic fibrosis patient, died at 11 waiting for a transplant. Javier knows the severity of his condition, she said, but she was working to keep his spirits up.