One Daughter Lost, Another Saved: Organ Donor’s Parents Meet 8-year-old Quadruple Transplant Recipient

Kyree Beachem, from Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, was born with Hirschsprung’s disease, which affects the large intestine because nerve cells are missing from the muscles of the colon. The 8-year-old had been waiting for a multi-organ transplant — liver, pancreas and small bowel — for five years when her mother, Nan Beachem, got a call in late November that a donor had come through.

Nan knew the donor had to be non-living and of a similar size and blood type to Kyree. She recognized the unimaginable: That the donor child would be one that another set of parents had lost.

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On November 25, as Kyree went into surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UMPC, Nan posted this message on the Kyree’s Dream Team Facebook page:

There were complications after the surgery, including a lung collapse and breathing difficulties, but Kyree has battled through and is improving daily. Nan updates Kyree’s page with every development, and when news coverage helped her donor’s family find the Beachems, Nan posted, “My hopes were to show our journey, but never lose sight of the unselfish act that a family chose in the midst of their darkest hour.” 

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With the family’s permission, Nan also shared a photo of 5-year-old Arianna Morales, who had a brain injury and died suddenly, whom they’ve been calling, “Kyree’s Angel.”

On Wednesday, Kylee had the strength to meet Arianna’s parents Luis and Evelyn Morales, and Nan posted the following set of photos from their visit:

For a caption, she wrote:

The post, which mentions that Arianna’s donations also saved three other children, has received more than 9,000 likes and 1,100 shares, and commenters are incredibly moved. One woman wrote, “I’m so overwhelmed by the selflessness of the others when they are faced with such heartache.” Another posted, “Bless you for turning tragedy to a miracle!”

For the last two nights, Kyree — who has a gofundme page to help with medical expenses — has slept comfortably, without oxygen, for the first time since her surgery. “With the help of her angel Arianna,” wrote Nan, “we will keep reaching.”

(Photos: Facebook/KyreesDream)

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