By CGTN's Ning Hong
A teenage donor and her selfless parents
Guoguo was a teenage girl who loved writing novels and reading the Harry Potter books.
She founded her own literature group, and dreamed of becoming a comic costume designer. Unfortunately, she died of cerebral apoplexy in 2016, at the age of 13. Organs from her body were donated to five other people.
Guoguo’s father Yu Jiang still keeps Guoguo’s room unchanged. / CGTN Photo
Guoguo’s parents, Yu Jiang and Guo Shuang, still keep the room of their only daughter unchanged. Half a year after their only daughter suddenly passed away, the pain is still there. Yet they decided to share their story with more people. The story of the life and death of their daughter.
Before Guoguo passed away, they never thought of organ donation. Yet when they were approached by doctors about organ donation, “It was a light in desperation,” recalled Yu Jiang, Guoguo’s father. “Knowing that our daughter could continue to live in another way in other people’s body, the pain was relieved.” They agreed almost at once.
“Whenever we think that Guoguo is looking at the world through another person’s eyes, it is a big consolation for us,” said Guo Shuang, Guoguo’s mother. “It helped others, and it has truly helped us, like a light in the darkness.”
Photo of Guoguo and her parents. / CGTN Photo
Five days before Guoguo passed away, she recorded her first online broadcast, The Brightest Stars in the Sky. “We are all the embodiment of stars in the sky, and the brightest one is ourselves.” These were her last recorded words, and now her dream has come true.
A letter to my younger brother
Three years ago, Wu Yue received a lung transplant operation. She is now breathing with lungs from another young man. She has been writing to her donor every year, despite the fact that she hardly know his name.
Photo provided by Wu Yue / CGTN Photo
She wrote, ” I often imagine what you looked like. Your strong body and tanned skin. You would show your white teeth when you smile. I am sorry for the accident you had and hope you didn’t suffer too much when you went.”
Photo provided by Wu Yue / CGTN Photo
“This is the second year I accepted your lung. I can go to the gym now. Telling my story is getting easier. Whenever I feel troubled, I would think of the moment I woke up on the operating table. I will treasure your lungs.”
Photo provided by Wu Yue / CGTN Photo
“It is getting hard to move on. For three years, I didn’t give up, not because I am strong and brave, but because the present you gave me is too valuable. I hope I will continue to write to you in five years, in ten years.”
China’s organ donation system
China outlawed harvesting organs from death row prisoners in 2015. Since then, voluntary organ donation has become the only source of organ transplants. The need for organs is bad in China, yet there is a huge gap between supply and demand.
In Chinese tradition, keeping the body of the deceased complete and intact is very important. Many people are therefore still reluctant to opt in for organ donation.
An organ donation coordinator's certificate. / CGTN Photo
A group of people has now become a major force for promoting organ donation. Registered under the China Red Cross Society, most of these organ donation coordinators are staff from hospitals and local branches of the Red Cross Society, who voluntarily look for potential donors and keep track of the organ donation process.
Organ donation coordinator Li Qing. / CGTN Photo
Li Qing is an organ donation coordinator in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. Unlike many of her colleagues, she works full time. It is not easy to find a proper donor, or get the approval from every direct family member, yet she is not discouraged.
“I would first build up relationships with donors’ families. I try to understand them, and explain to them the process of organ donations.” said Li.
According to the China Organ Donation Administration Center, there are over 200,000 registered organ donors so far. That number has increased rapidly in recent years. In 2016, there were over 10,000 successful organ transplant procedures performed, a significant increase over 2015.
