Mother hears late daughter’s heart beat in transplant recipient

• Lisa Schein’s daughter, Maddy, died at eight and her organs were donated, saving four lives.
• Mireya Moody, diagnosed with a rare heart condition, received Maddy’s heart through a transplant.
• The families met, sharing memories, and Lisa listened to Mireya’s heartbeat, expressing gratitude and connection.

This is the tear-jerking moment a United States mother listens to her late daughter’s heart – which is now keeping another young girl alive.

Lisa Schein’s daughter, Maddy, died at the age of 8 on April 1, 2022, after an ATV accident.

Despite their heartbreak, the Schein family of Logan, Ohio, chose to donate her organs.

Maddy Schein with her mother Lisa.

Their decision saved four lives, including a young girl named Mireya Moody, who received the heart through a transplant operation.

Just a few months earlier, Moody had been diagnosed with a rare and serious heart condition called left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy.

The disease affects the heart muscle, causing it to appear spongy and impairing its ability to pump blood efficiently.

It can lead to heart failure and other life-threatening complications, especially in children.

Moody relied on a mechanical device to circulate her blood for several months while awaiting a transplant.

In April 2002, Mireya’s mother Bianca Robinson was notified that a suitable donor heart had been found.

Mireya Moody was saved by the transplant.

“It’s a conflicting feeling of relief but also guilt,” she said.

“I had been praying for this day, but I knew what it meant for another family.”

The heart came from Maddy.

Following the transplant, Moody gradually regained strength through continued therapy and care at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s.

Medical staff noted her positive energy and described her as a “joyful presence during visits”.

A year after the surgery, Mireya’s mother contacted Lisa Schein.

As the families spoke and shared memories, they found similarities between the two girls.

Both displayed strong personalities and showed quiet determination.

The Schein family gave Mireya Moody a soft avocado plush toy during their first meeting.

She named it “Maddy” and has kept it close ever since, sleeping with it every night.

Lisa Schein listens to her daughter's heart beat in another girl's body.

Footage released by the Cleveland Clinic shows Lisa Schein listening to the 8-year-old’s heartbeat using a stethoscope.

Moody then embraced Schein, expressing gratitude for the donation that gave her a second chance at life.

“It was a long embrace that solidified an unbreakable bond,” the Cleveland Clinic said of the moment.

The pair shared "a long embrace that solidified an unbreakable bond".

Lisa Schein said: “I wanted to run up to Mireya, squeeze her and never let her go because that was all I had left of my girl. Meeting Mireya’s mom, Bianca, talking with her and hearing her story about Mireya’s illness was hard, but it helps to know a piece of Maddy lives on.

“I also loved being able to tell them stories about who Maddy was - about her infectious laugh and bubbly personality. I think that’s when my heart began to start healing.”

Bianca Robinson and Lisa Schein (seen here with Mireya Moody) were amazed by their daughter's similarities.