A CHINESE medical hall proprietor has not died in vain for her family members signed a consent form for doctors to perform organ transplant on her.
The deceased, 37-year-old Joan Goh who was declared brain dead by her doctors eventually did a good deed by having donated organs and tissues to give six patients on the waiting list a new lease of life.
Doctors successfully retrieved a pair of kidneys, a liver and a pair of cornea for organ transplants to be carried out at Sungai Buloh Hospital on Nov 2.
Goh’s mother, sisters and son told Sin Chew Daily that she was a caring person and they were proud that she had helped others in a different way.
Relating Goh’s ordeal, her sister said Goh was having a headache and vomited, prompting her to seek medical treatment at a private medical centre in Kuantan on Oct 28.
As her condition deteriorated, Goh who was running Kedai Ubat Aw Teck Chuen in Kuantan with her husband was transferred to Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital and then Sungai Buloh Hospital.
This was when Goh’s heart stopped. The doctors managed to resuscitate her but later found that she was brain dead. They then approached her family members for a possible organ donation to which they consented.
“When we were told that her life could be extended in a different way through organ donation, we agreed to let her be an organ donor,” Goh’s sister was quoted by Sin Chew Daily as saying.
Goh was the sixth organ donor at Sungai Buloh Hospital since 2016. The family was informed that one of the organ recipients made good progress after the transplant.
Goh’s mother found solace learning about the positive response from one of the recipients. Following his mother’s footsteps, Goh’s son said he would also consider pledging his organs.
For the uninitiated, Malaysia practices an opting system with regard to deceased organ donation where one or more organ are removed from a person after his/her death.
Retrieval of organ requires consent from family members, according to the Health Ministry’s (MOH) Transplantation Unit. A person who has died may donate both kidneys, liver, heart, lungs and also tissues like cornea (eye), skin, heart valves and bones.
As for living organ donation, the procedure can only be conducted among close blood relatives who include identical twins, first-degree relatives and second-degree relatives.
“You may also donate to your legal spouse (husband/wife). If you wish to donate your organ to someone who is not genetically related to you or to a distant relative (a third-degree relative and beyond), you will need to be evaluated by an independent committee appointed by the MOH for permission,” added the MOH’s Transplantation Unit. – Nov 15, 2023
Main pic credit: Sin Chew Daily
