Cleveland woman gives birth to terminally ill baby in order to donate her organs to other children

Krysta Davis and Dereck Lovett, a couple from Cleveland, turned the worst day of their lives into a hopeful one for other parents.

Unfortunately, when Krysta was only four months pregnant, she and Dereck learned that their upcoming baby, named Rylei Arcadia Lovett would not survive due to a rare brain disorder called Anencephaly.

The condition prevents the brain from fully developing, so their best option was terminating the pregnancy right away. However, doctors gave them a second choice: carry her to full-term and donate her organs.

LIFE-CHANGING DECISION

After thinking about it for a while, Krysta and Dereck noticed that the girl could save other children if her organs would develop completely, so they decided to carry her full-term. “If I wasn't able to bring my baby home, at least others could bring theirs home,” said Krysta.

On Christmas Eve, the baby was born weighing six pounds. Even though doctors told the couple that Rylei would only live for about 30 minutes, the girl had different plans and stayed with her parents for one week. Sadly, Rylei passed away on New Year’s Eve night.

MIXED FEELINGS

Krysta had mixed feelings. Her child passed away, but she lived a lot longer than what doctors expected. “There's no way to describe how amazing it felt. When you go to thinking you'll only have 30 minutes with your child, and you get an entire week,” confessed the lady.

Rylei ended up donating two heart valves that would help two different children, as well as her lungs, which are expected to be used for research. Dawn Mazurek, the coordinator of Hospital Development with Tennessee Donor Services, thanked not only the couple but also the doctor for introducing the idea early in the diagnosis.

CLETUS SCHNIEDERS’ CASE

Thankfully, Rylei was not the only person who saved some lives with her organs. A 41-year-old man named Cletus Schnieders sadly passed away and, since he and his wife, Carrie, had talked about donating his organs if something like that happened, she knew that it was just what Cletus would have wanted.

As a way to thank and honor him and his family for such a selfless act, more than 150 people including nurses, family, friends, and people who wanted to share their gratitude lined through a hallway and stayed silent while Cletus was taken to the operation room.

With his donation, he contributed with the lives of at least 50 other people. The images and videos of the Honor Walk were shared on social media and became viral in no time.