Migrant's organs donated to 5
(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2006-02-13 09:49

The corneas of a migrant worker who died Friday in Shenzhen will be transplanted into the eyes of two recipients today, after his liver and kidneys were donated to three people in two other cities Saturday.

The corneas of Chen Youyu, 48, originally from the southwestern province of Sichuan, will be transplanted into a 5-year-old boy and a young man in Longgang District in Shenzhen this morning, said Doctor Yao Xiaoming of the Shenzhen Ophthalmic Hospital yesterday.

Chen’s liver and kidneys were transplanted successfully into three people in Guangzhou and Hengyang City in Hunan Province in three separate operations, making him Shenzhen’s first multiple-organ donor.

Chen suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while working Feb. 4, and was sent to hospital immediately. Chen’s condition worsened after the second hemorrhage Thursday. The doctors told Chen’s two sons, Chen Jian and Chen Wei, who arrived in Shenzhen on Tuesday from their hometown in Pengxi County in Sichuan, that their father might die very soon.

The next day, on the suggestion of a friend, the two brothers decided to donate their father’s organs after his death. Chen Youyu was in a coma at that time.

At about 4 p.m. Friday, the two brothers informed the Shenzhen Red Cross about their decision. Chen Youyu died at 11:06 p.m. Friday and his body was transported to Guangzhou immediately, where a liver recipient and a kidney recipient had been found.

“The three transplant operations were very successful,” said Professor Pan of the 2nd Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College, where one of the operations was performed.

“My father would be very happy if he knew he could change other people’s fates after his death,” Chen Wei said.

The brothers said their father always told them that “a man shouldn’t forget his past sufferings and should repay to those who have helped them.”

Their father’s body will be cremated this week. Half of the ashes will be taken back to their hometown and the other half will remain in Shenzhen.

“He will be with the city where he donated organs to help others, and his spirit will be alive forever,” Chen Wei, the younger brother, said.

“My family was very poor. Without relatives and friends’ help, it’s impossible for us to survive,” he said.

Their mother died in 2000. The elder brother Chen Jian is employed by the county government, but does not make enough to support his brother, who still owes 3,000 yuan (US$375) in student loans.

Their father came to Shenzhen on Jan. 1 to help pay off the loan.

“It is the first time for him to be out of Sichuan, but couldn’t return home any more,” Chen Jian said.