Kumaravel Roshna, 13

School: Bukit Batok Secondary School

Topic: Your organ transplant journey as a teenager

Award: High Distinction, Junior Category, 2024

I was only thirteen when I was told that my life, one I have yet to live, might be stolen from me. After a life-threatening cardiac arrest, I was informed by my heartbroken, teary-eyed mother and a solemn doctor that I was in desperate need of a new heart, and if I did not receive one soon, my life could be plucked away from me before I could live it to its full extent. In simple words, my heart was failing. The only possible way to live, and that too only for a short while, is with around 2 kilograms of batteries stored inside of me. Being a hockey player, this news shattered all hopes of an athlete's future. The only thing that served as light to this blanket of gloom that had draped itself over my family was the small sliver of hope that I could get an organ transplant, but that too was diminished when I came to know how rare its possibility was.

Was I really left with no hope? Am I going to be stuck living off batteries with a constant fear of when it will stop working and my life vanishes? These thoughts plagued me, no matter the time or day; they always lingered in my headspace, forcing me to acknowledge the dreadful truth.

Never did I ever imagine that a single phone call would change my life, but it did. Several days past my fourteenth birthday, my mother received a phone call from the hospital, informing her that there was a heart available at that moment, and it was perfect for me. She burst into my room, tears streaming down her cheeks, and yelled, “Julia, there’s a heart available for you!!” To say I was happy was not good enough; ecstasy poured out of me, healing all the broken cracks. Due to my young age and lack of knowledge on this topic, my parents sat me down and informed me of the potential consequences if I did choose to proceed with this surgery.

The fact that my body might reject the heart did not make me feel better, and neither did the truth that this heart meant somewhere out there, someone’s loved one had left them, and they had been an angel to donate their organ. These factors made it a tough decision, and I spent hours pondering over them. If all these days I could place my trust in a machine to keep my life, I could trust these skilled doctors to save me. And so, after two agonising days, I lay on the blue bed, my friends and family surrounding me. “Julia, are you sure? There’s a chance you might not make it out; the risk is small, but it's still there,” my mother asked me one last time, her lips trembling and her voice shaking. I nodded, opting to stay quiet. I entered the surgery room with an unmistakable sliver of hope, clinging on to it for life. I closed my eyes for what I prayed wouldn’t be the last time.

That moment of my life was the scariest of it all. I was putting my life in the hands of complete strangers, and I was being prepared to accept a heart that belonged to an anonymous person.

Alas, I emerged from the operation theatre alive and as a new, healthy person. I opened my eyes to a world of new possibilities and a bright future. We had received the details of the heart donor, met them in person after my recovery, and conveyed to them our deepest gratitude and condolences. They had lost their daughter, Amara, who was just a couple of years older than me, and when they wrapped me in a hug and thanked me for living the life their daughter could not, everything in me broke and the tears spilled over.

I will continue Amara’s brave legacy and build one of my own. My heart goes out to all those who suffered and continue to suffer my fate. Some lose their lives due to the low availability of a new heart, and my gratitude to not be one of them would never be fully expressed. Organ donation is not just a normal thing. It saves thousands of lives and provides hope to everyone with organ failure. Spreading awareness of it might save more lives and allow people to not take their bodies for granted. We should not realise the value of something only when we lose it.

Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the essays for the Live On Festival 2024 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