Florida, January 9, 2025: A couple in Florida, US, Catherine Mornhineway and Andrew Ford, received crushing news during a routine ultrasound at HCA Florida Brandon Hospital. Medical professionals informed the Tampa couple that their baby girl, Haven, had a rare condition called anencephaly. The infant would survive only a few hours after birth with mechanical support.
Anencephaly is a central nervous system abnormality characterized by the congenital absence of the forebrain, skull, and scalp.
Doctors presented two options either terminate the pregnancy or carry the baby to term. The couple made the difficult choice to carry Haven to full term, hoping her short life could potentially save others through organ donation.
Mornhineway found unexpected guidance from a television medical drama.
She told reporters that an episode of Grey's Anatomy gave her the idea that Haven’s life, however brief, could give life to others through organ donation.
This fictional storyline inspired a real-world mission of compassion. The couple decided to carry their daughter to full term, hoping her brief life could save others.
"That's really the biggest reason, we want her death to mean something," Ford told WFLA.
The couple named their daughter Haven, symbolizing a "safe harbor" and "light in the dark," according to Fox 13. Catherine delivered Haven on December 11, 2025 at HCA Florida Brandon Hospital.
Haven survived for four days in the neonatal intensive care unit. During this time, the couple spent every possible moment with the newest family member.
"With the little bit of time that we got with her, we just wouldn't trade any of it," Andrew told Fox 13.
In Haven’s final moments, the family was together. "Back in the [hospital room], she passed on my chest, and we were all just kind of snuggled in bed. I just couldn't think of a more beautiful way to say goodbye," Andrew said.
Haven’s donation made medical history. The couple worked with the LifeLink Foundation, an organization dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation.
Laurie Vandamme, a perinatal nurse navigator at HCA Brandon who is close to the family, revealed that the hospital conducted its first-ever honor walk for a newborn. HCA Brandon also became the first facility in Florida to successfully retrieve a partial heart transplant from a neonatal donor.
"Those heart valves grow with the baby, so it’s really incredible," Vandamme explained. "These babies can go on, and rather than having multiple open-heart surgeries, they now have a part of this heart that grows with them."
Since sharing their story publicly, Catherine and Andrew discovered that their decision has touched countless lives beyond the organ recipients.
"I’ve had a lot of strangers reach out to me and say some really beautiful things, and people donate to Donate Life in her honor. I feel like it’s really making a difference," Mornhineway said.
The couple's courage has raised awareness about neonatal organ donation, a relatively rare but increasingly important medical practice.
"Our miracle becomes someone else’s miracle as well," Andrew reflected.
Research published in the European Journal of Pediatrics highlights a significant disparity in organ donation rates. Neonatal organ donation occurs at least ten times less frequently than among older infants, despite critical medical need. 1
Vileito, Alicija, Christian V. Hulzebos, Mona C. Toet, Dyvonne H. Baptist, Eduard A. A. Verhagen, and Marion J. Siebelink. “Neonatal donation: Are newborns too young to be recognized?” European Journal of Pediatrics 180, no. 12 (2021): 3491–3497. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-021-04139-3. Accessed January 6, 2026.
“Use of anencephalic newborns as organ donors.” Paediatrics & Child Health 10, no. 6 (2005): 335–337. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722973/
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