When Owen Monroe was born, he was disgnosed with truncus arteriosus, which meant that two of his heart's main arteries were fused together. Doctors performed a partial transplant, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, to save the baby's life.
She said she and her husband, Nick, had a conversation about whether Owen's purpose was to be a donor for other newborns, calling it"probably the hardest conversation you can ever have as a parent."
"Even though we had him listed for a normal heart transplant, we suspected we weren't gonna make it that far," he said. Still a newborn, Owen underwent the procedure. Doctors used tissue from a donor heart with strong valves but poor muscle condition, meaning it could not be used in a full transplant.