Ignacia Nathar Yi Ni Si, 16

School: CHIJ St. Joseph’s Convent

Topic: Email about your father’s gift

Award: Merit, Senior Category, 2022

Dear Uncle Jerry,

Much love to you! I heard that you have been unwell due to health issues. I hope you are feeling better with regular kidney dialysis. I am writing to you to emphasise Dad’s desire to donate his kidney to you. Since learning of the awful news about your health, Dad was devastated. He feels very strongly about lending a hand in this time of crisis in our family. Dad has also done some research about the process of dialysis and kidney failure so he understands how agonising it is for you to go through dialysis three times a week. It pains him to learn of the challenges a kidney patient faces. He sincerely wishes that you will be able to live a normal and comfortable life taking care of your family again, once you are well.

Dad, like you, is the sole breadwinner in our family, therefore he deeply understands the heavy responsibilities you have upon your shoulders as you support Jennifer, James and little Jess through school. This is the very first reason why Dad wishes to offer to do the transplant.

Besides researching your illness, Dad has also read up on being an organ donor. He fully understands the risks involved and the possible consequences after the transplant. He also realised that it typically takes an extremely long time to get a kidney transplant because of the long waiting list. Thus it would be faster to receive an organ donation from a family member.

However, he has found out that Aunt Jemina and your children are not compatible donors because they did not fit the many criteria and pass the tests that are necessary for a donor to be deemed suitable. Dad was extremely happy when he found out he was a suitable donor after the tests he went through and is eager to go ahead with the transplant for you.

Dad has discussed this with Mum and me and we fully support his decision to go through with this. I feel that you should accept his offer without any second thoughts. By doing so, you will not only have a better quality of life, it will also lift the weight of worrying about your family off your shoulders as you know you will be there to continue supporting them. You will be able to have more time to spend with Aunt Jemina and the children. Your health situation will no longer be such a great worry to your family. Aunt Jemina will also not be placed in such a difficult situation, between having to support the family at all costs while at the same time making time to ensure that she can spend sufficient time caring for the children if anything were to happen to you.

Uncle Jerry, think also of Aunt Jemina’s feelings. She will not be able to live a full life without you in hers. Besides mum and dad, both of you are the most loving couple all of us have seen. You are the epitome of how a family unit should be! A great example of how we should set our families to be in future.

You are the only extended family I have. You have been in my life and helped raise me since I was born; just like a second father to me. We have made many precious memories together as I grew up with you. Not forgetting that we still have yet to create so many memories, and I do not want to lose you anytime soon. I sincerely hope that you will accept Dad’s offer to do the transplant as it will significantly increase your life expectancy. It has also been proven that a living-donor kidney transplantation is associated with an immediate survival advantage compared with dialysis. I really hope that you can be there to witness all the major milestones in my life just as a father would, so please accept Dad’s offer and go ahead with the transplant.

I believe another of Dad’s motivation to donate his kidney to you is; as his only sibling, you are an extremely important figure in Dad’s life. Dad has also mentioned several times that ever since Grandma and Grandpa passed on, both of you have grown even closer together. This especially caused your bond to become stronger and is the very reason why Dad feels strongly towards doing the transplant. Dad desperately wants to help because you only have each other and having a part of him in you is natural for him.

I think I have said enough and have exhausted all my pleas to you to accept our help. I genuinely hope you will accept Dad’s offer.

Much love,
Mary

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