An Oklahoma mother has made one of the most difficult and selfless decisions of her life, deciding to deliver a terminally ill baby with the intention of donating her newborn’s organs.
Oklahoma City resident Keri Young was devastated when she learned two months ago – at a 20-week ultrasound — that her baby would be born without a portion of her brain and skull due to a condition called anencephaly, she wrote on Facebook on Dec. 15.
The couple named their unborn daughter Eva.
Young said that during heated discussions during one of the presidential debates regarding late-term abortion, she decided herself what she would do if she were ever put in the position to make that decision.
“My exact words were, ‘If I were put in this position, I’d want that baby alive and healthy for as long as possible. So if that means carrying the baby to 40 weeks, I’d take it. And from a practical standpoint, organs! I’d love knowing my baby’s heart was still beating, even in another baby’s body,’” Young wrote.
Young called the first 24 hours after learning of Eva’s condition the “hardest” of her and her husband, Royce’s, lives.
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The next day, a doctor asked Young about the possibility of donating Eva’s organs. At that appointment, the couple learned that her heard would not be eligible for transplant, but her heart valves, kidneys, liver and possibly her pancreas could be donated to a patient in need, as well as her lungs for research. The doctor also informed them that they may be able to meet the recipients of Eva’s organs.
The couple went straight to church after the meeting, where a pastor told the couple that in their daughter’s 24 hours of life, she may save 50 lives. Young struggled with the idea at first saying was a “bad idea.” But it wasn’t long because she “knew” what they “had to do.”
“We will leave the hospital without a baby,” she wrote. “That is our reality. But we accept it.”
On Feb. 7, Young shared a 4-D ultrasound photo of Eva, describing her unborn daughter as having “chubby cheeks” and “long fingers and toes.”
“I’ve been feeling more pregnant than 27 weeks and sure enough, we’re officially over the normal range in fluid,” Young wrote. “Basically all this means is I’m about to get real big.”
Young added that she and Royce were “more excited than ever to hold her.”
On Sunday, Young took to Facebook again to thank her supporters for praying for her family.
(H/T: Fox News)
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