Low Ying Xiang, Joshua, 14

School: Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)

Topic: Do donor families find hope in organ donation?

Award: Second Place, Junior Category, 2022

“Hope”. A short word with a simple definition of having a feeling of expectation and a desire for a particular thing to happen. This minimal word carries so much more depth than its initial appearance. It represents a sense of joy, a sense of happiness, that one thought, that can catalyse a complete breakthrough in the darkest of times. In life, from all aspects of it, hope can be experienced especially through loss. It is the reason as to why hope can be felt by all types of people. Hope carries the weakest through the toughest and reveals a silver lining in every dark cloud.

Organ donation is a form of “loss”. The donor has to literally lose an organ to save someone’s life in turn giving instead. The “loss” of an organ can be through live donation or when one dies and has offered their organs for donation. The donation through the loss of life is indeed an unfortunate thing as the loss of life is one of the worst possible ways to lose. However, I feel that an even greater loss would be the feeling of emptiness that the donor’s family will experience. The death of a spouse, a son, a daughter, a parent, a grandparent and even a friend makes one realise that no matter what, there is no chance that they will ever be seen again. Together with the feeling that your late friend or family members’ body parts will be used for another. Even if that reason may be a life-saving one, it is perfectly reasonable for the donor family to experience uneasiness about the entire process. As a child of a father who may donate some of his bone marrow to another, I do have certain fears that it might affect him in the long run. But this is nothing compared to the donor passing on.

Like previously mentioned, hope surfaces when there is a loss.

Organ donation can be seen as a loss, in fact a significant loss to the donor family. All they can do is hope that the life of their loved one has been put to good use. All they can hope for is that the doctors are successful. All they can hope for is that the organs are in good condition so that their loved one’s life has not been wasted. However, is this truly the right hope? This hope is that nothing is wasted and in my opinion is overly obsessed over the worth of one life. Yes, emotions are high, the intensity of sadness is immense but families should eventually focus on the resolve that the life they have lost has saved another. Death is a natural thing that comes to all and that is why this “trade” is perfect. There is no lose-win situation but instead one that both sides benefit. Families can hope that a natural course of life has saved another and brought joy to an entire group of people.

Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the essays for the Live On Festival 2022 are those of the participants and are not endorsed by the National Organ Transplant Unit (Ministry of Health). To learn more about organ donation and organ transplantation in Singapore, please visit www.liveon.gov.sg ↗ (opens in new tab)