A selfless mum is going to give birth even though she knows her baby will die during labour so that she can donate the organs to help other children.
Thirty-year-old Hayley Martin was told at her 20-week scan that her baby will due during labour or moments after, but she rejected the doctor's offer of a termination and has decided that will carry the baby to full term so she can donate her daughter's organs to help others who are in desperate need.
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She has also vowed to donate one of her own kidneys in her little girl's name as soon as she has recovered from the birth.
Hayley said: "Our child is going to die no matter what, but if we can try and save somebody else the grief we are going through, it will all be worth it.
"It was not an easy decision but it was the right decision, and 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."
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Hayley and her husband Scott have three children and were delighted when they discovered she was pregnant, however, they were devastated to learn that their unborn daughter, who they have called Ava-Joy, had bilateral renal agenesis - a rare genetic disorder which is always fatal.
She added: "Of course it's heartbreaking. I see other pregnant mums happily expecting and I feel such sorrow.
"I have all the symptoms of a healthy pregnancy and I can feel Ava inside me but I know I won't get to bring her up at the end of it.
"But I am determined to create something positive out of this agonising experience.
"I also know there will be babies out there who could have a chance at life with Ava's healthy organs. Why should two babies die if one can be saved?"
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Hayley's due date is 25 January, but it's likely she will be induced in Christmas week, so the baby isn't stillborn. If she survives labour, doctors are hoping the parents will get spend a few moments with their little girl.
Hayley said: "Even if I get just one second of her opening her little eyes and looking at me - that would be a moment that no one can ever take away from me."
The couple are now hoping to set up a charity project to honour their daughter's memory and to help other families who decide to carry their pregnancy to full term despite a fatal diagnosis.
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