Miracletina Nanai — known as Baby Miracle — was born six months ago in the South Pacific island nation of Samoa with missing eyeballs and fingers, deformed feet and spinal cord, a partial brain and a double cleft palate.

New Zealand government denied the girl's family an entry visa in December, saying that medical treatment would raise false expectations because several medical experts there concluded there was no treatment that would benefit the baby's quality of life.

However, the U.S. Embassy in Samoa approved a visa Tuesday for the baby to go for treatment at the Miami Children's Hospital, where two top surgeons have offered their services for free, Charge d'Affaires George Colvin said.

"We wish Miracletina and her family all the very best," he said.

A date for the baby's flight to the U.S. has not yet been set, local supporters said.

After her birth, doctors in Samoa had advised family members not to feed Miracletina, whose malformed nose and mouth prevented her from suckling. But the baby's parents fed her using a plastic syringe and later said Miracletina could raise her head and respond to family members.

Supporters raised $62,000 from donations in New Zealand and Samoa in their "Baby Miracle Appeal" to send the girl to New Zealand, the nearest developed country, for a medical assessment.

But New Zealand's government denied a visa after specialists viewed results of an ultrasound scan and television footage of the baby. The baby's parents, Sefulu and Mikaele Nanai, later appealed to the U.S. Embassy with the help of a local lawmaker.

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