Marissa Ayala became a national media sensation before she was even born when her parents conceived her in hopes of giving birth to a bone marrow donor for her leukemia-stricken sister.
Now 23, Ayala has long been out of the headlines, but she earned some attention Wednesday when she graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in speech pathology.
``I can't be more proud,'' she told reporters after receiving her diploma. ``And I can't thank my parents and my sister and my loved ones enough for all their support and love because I wouldn't have been able to deal without them.''
Ayala's story sparked a national debate in 1988, with many critics questioning the ethics of conceiving a child for the purpose of finding a bone marrow donor for her then-16-year-old sister, Anissa.
Doctors had been unable to find a suitable donor, so her parents -- Mary and Abraham -- followed a friend's suggestion and decided to have another child, even though there was no guarantee the baby would be a suitable donor.
Complicating matters was the fact that Abraham Ayala had previously undergone a vasectomy, which had to be reversed for the couple to conceive a child. But the couple beat the odds, giving birth to Marissa in 1990.
And their gamble paid off. Anissa is now 41. Their tale was even turned into a made-for-television movie, called ``For the Love of My Child: The Anissa Ayala Story.'' Marissa beamed Wednesday as she received her diploma, and her family was on hand to cheer.
``It's our dream come true,'' her mother, Mary, said. ``Our prayers have been answered. We're just very blessed.'' Marissa gushed about her relationship with her older sister, now named Anissa Brackett. ``When I think about it, I just .. can't ask for a better sister, a better friend, a better second mom,'' she said.
Editor's Note: City News Service authored this story and their credit was inadvertently left off the story.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.