Tan Man Le Hannah, 16

School: Mayflower Secondary School

Topic: An email to the Head of CCA on an organ donation awareness project

Award: Distinction, Senior Category, 2023

Dear Mr Lim

First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to you for giving us this honorous opportunity to share our ideas for the upcoming organ donation and transplantation awareness project. On behalf of the CCA leaders, I would like to propose a student-directed documentary starring interviews with organ donors, organ recipients and medical staff which will then be showcased to the entire school community during one of the morning assemblies.

For this project there will be a total of forty-eight students, two from each class, who will be selected to visit the nearby Khoo Teck Puat Hospital on the twenty first of July, a Home-Based Learning (HBL) day. They will experience the chance to interact, observe and listen to the patients waiting for a transplant personally and the professional opinions of doctors and surgeons. Following the visit, we will invite the students to share with us about their experiences there and to also conduct external interviews with the patients and medical professionals. It would be brilliant if we could interview living donors as well. All these interviews, along with the students’ reflections will be directed by us, the CCA leaders, and then be collated together to form a short documentary. Fortunately, our talented Videography club members have agreed to lend us a helping hand in the filming and editing of the documentary. Subsequently, the video will be played during the morning assembly on the thirteenth of August, World Organ Donation Day.

Through this documentary, the students will be able to see the struggles of these patients through the eyes of their peers and also fix their misconceptions about organ donation with real stories from people who have gone through life-changing procedures and from doctors who are there to clear any of their doubts. Their sadness, success, regrets and joys will touch the hearts of the students and hopefully give them a greater understanding of the importance and significance of organ donation. Additionally, our videography club members will gain further recognition from the school population for their contributions in this documentary.

To me, raising awareness about organ donation is extremely important to widen our perspectives on any false impressions and be free of any fear or guilt. Having the knowledge and the confidence to donate our organs whilst alive or dead can provide another with a second chance to live and smile again. I have already come to an agreement with myself to donate my organs in the future after my cousin died of heart failure last year during the waiting process for a donor. Afterall, we can never predict when our organs might start to malfunction. Without a doubt, it is necessary that us students know of this solution from a young age.

On top of that, being given the great privilege to be involved in the organising committee has taught me how to think of ideas in a realistic and practical way. We initially wanted to organise a school trip to the hospital but soon realised that it was infeasible due to overcrowding. As a leader, it is crucial to make sure that there are no loopholes and that everyone’s opinions are heard and accounted for. It was challenging to come to an agreement with everyone but, through fruitful discussions and patient negotiations we were able to settle on this idea.

On a final note, I am positive that our idea of creating a documentary with the help of our fellow schoolmates will effectively raise awareness and encourage students to support the donation of organs to save countless lives in the future. Once again I would like to thank you for entrusting us with this project.

Yours sincerely,
Lilian Goh

Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the essays for the Live On Festival 2023 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