CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Courtney Jones was scrolling on Facebook last fall when she came across a post about a mother’s plea for help.

The mother, Jenna Powell, was looking for someone to donate a portion of their liver for her infant son, Rhett who was diagnosed with Alagille syndrome as an infant. Jones, a 34-year-old mother of three who’s youngest is just eight months older than Rhett, knew she was Rhett’s donor from the moment she saw his photo.

“I had a calling,” Jones, who lives in Virginia Beach, said. “God called me to this, so all glory and praise to Him. He truly called me to this and in that moment, I knew. I was his donor.”

Almost five months after the transplant, which occurred on Dec. 1, Jones and her family finally got to meet Powell in-person at an event at the UVA Health Transplant Center on Tuesday. Rhett, now 22 months old, and his father, James, joined online via Zoom.

Jones, who said she has a long history of blood, platelet and breastmilk donations, initially made her liver donation anonymously, but their meeting on Wednesday finally gave Powell the opportunity to thank Jones in an encounter filled with hugs and tears.

“I really didn’t think this moment would happen,” Powell said to Jones, “because I assumed that the donor might want to stay anonymous, because you’ve been such a kind person. I didn’t think that you wanted to be in this spot, because you were just doing it for the good of your heart. So, I was really happy when I walked into the room and it was really happening.”

While Rhett was unable to attend due to an unrelated illness, Jones was able to see Rhett over zoom for the first time. She and her husband both told Powell they had been following the Sedley family’s journey through Facebook and were relieved to finally be able connect with them.

Among the gifts exchanged by both families, Powell gifted Jones with a custom-made teddy bear made out of Rhett’s old baby clothes and hospital gowns.

“Picking out something to get you was really difficult, because nothing felt as important as what you gave me, if that makes any sense,” Powell said to Jones. “So, I tried to think of something that has a lot of meaning, and as a mother, nothing is more important than the things your child wore.”

The emotional meeting was the result of a leap of faith from Powell, who recalled how she only decided to put her son’s face onto the internet because she “didn’t know what else to do to get him the help that he needed.”

Jones was one of more than 130 people who expressed interest in donating. She underwent testing and it was determined she was a match for Rhett.

UVA Health staff said, during Tuesday’s event, that many of those prospective donors were later directed to make other donations to patients in need.

“It was never just about Rhett,” Powell said. “It started becoming about other people, because I realized if I couldn’t just save my baby or if something went wrong and I got something positive out of going public with my child’s face, that if it saves someone else’s life, it was worth whatever pain I had to go through and do.”

The Powell family also made a lifelong connection. Jenna said she hopes Jones will be present for every big moment in Rhett’s life moving forward, as she’ll be “the reason why he had those big moments.”

Jones said she’d love to be there.

“I just feel like he’s a part of me now,” Jones said of Rhett, “and I would love to be there, to support him and see him grow.”