Mother plans to donate organs of unborn child suffering fatal genetic defect
A BRAVE pregnant woman is donating the most precious gift of all this Christmas... the organs of her unborn child.
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Hayley Martin, 30, has been told Ava-Joy’s 20-week scan shows she will die either during labour or moments after birth.
But instead of terminating to avoid a traumatic stillbirth, she and husband Scott have decided to complete the pregnancy in order that Ava-Joy’s organs can help save other babies.
Mrs Martin, of Hull, is likely to be induced this week and hopes her unborn child will in some way live on in the babies she saves.
Yesterday, she said: “Our child is going to die no matter what.
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Even if I get just one second of her opening her little eyes, no one can ever take that away from me
“But if we can try and save somebody else, the grief we are going through will all be worth it.
“It has helped me cope with the heartbreak.
“A part of her will live on, she won’t be completely gone. She will be alive in somebody else.
“It is her Christmas gift to other poorly babies.”
She said that after the birth she also plans to donate one of her own kidneys, adding: “I want to give one in her honour.”
The Martins, who already have daughters Kiowa, seven, Layla, five, and son Oliver, two, were ecstatic when they discovered they were expecting again.
But their happiness soon turned to heartbreak after learning their child would not survive.
The five-month scan to find out the sex of their child also revealed a rare genetic disorder, bilateral renal agenesis.
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It is always fatal and means the baby has no kidneys and is not surrounded by enough amniotic fluid, causing malformed lungs.
While many parents would choose to terminate and avoid the trauma of giving birth to a dying child, Hayley decided to continue.
She said: “Of course it’s heartbreaking. I see other pregnant mums happily expecting and I feel such sorrow.
“I can feel Ava inside me but I know I won’t get to bring her up.
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“Even seeing babies in the supermarket can leave me in floods of tears.
“But I am determined to create something positive out of this agonising experience.”
The couple are not sure what Ava-Joy will be able to donate but her heart valves, liver cells and pancreas could be options.
Ava-Joy’s due date is January 25 but she will be induced so she is not stillborn.
Hayley said: “Even if I get just one second of her opening her little eyes, no one can ever take that away from me.
“Ava-Joy, no matter what, will always be my daughter.”
Hayley said she hopes her story will encourage other mothers in the same situation to follow suit.
