Noor Jaslinah Binte Abdul Kader, 14

School: Bowen Secondary School

Topic: Two interviews with a donor family

Award: Junior Category, 2025

A Goodbye That Gave Life 

“We weren’t ready to say goodbye. Yet she was ready to give.” 

These were the quiet, trembling words of Mr Tan, just hours after he and his family agreed to donate the organs of their 23-year-old daughter, Rachel. I first met the Tans in their living room, which still held traces of Rachel, her slippers by the door, a half-filled water bottle on the table, her favourite hoodie folded neatly on the couch. The house was still, yet beneath the silence was a storm of emotion, including heartbreak, disbelief, and a grief too raw to fully name. 

Just two days earlier, Rachel had suffered a sudden brain aneurysm. Doctors told the family that there was no hope. Then came a question no parent ever expects: Would they consider donating her organs? 

“It felt too soon,” Mdm Tan said, her voice breaking. “We hadn’t even accepted that she was gone, and they were already asking if we could let go of more.” Amid the pain, one memory gave them clarity. “She once told us over dinner that if anything ever happened, we should donate whatever could be used,” Daniel, Rachel’s younger brother, shared. “She said, ‘If I’m gone, I’m gone. But someone else doesn’t have to be.’” Back then, they didn’t take it seriously. No parent expects their child to leave first. However, in that moment, the decision became less about loss and more about love, and they chose to honour her words. “It was the only part of this nightmare that felt right,” Mr Tan said. “Rachel would have wanted this.” 

Rachel’s organs went on to save five individuals. Her heart now beats inside a 16-year-old boy who had been battling a congenital heart condition. Her kidneys were given to two women who had spent years tied to dialysis machines. Her liver saved a man with a young daughter. And her corneas restored sight to two people who had lived in blurred darkness for most of their lives. The Tans knew none of their names, yet they know Rachel lives on, not just in memory, but in movement, breath, and light. 

“It’s strange,” Mdm Tan said, “to think that someone out there is watching the sunrise because of her. That someone’s child still has a parent because of her.” The pain of losing Rachel hasn’t disappeared. Instead, it has been transformed — not just a wound, but a legacy. 

When I visited the Tans again three months later, grief still lingered, although it had softened. Their home was quieter, yet not as heavy. A small frame sat on the mantle, holding a quote Rachel had once written in her journal: “If I can help someone live, that’s the kind of goodbye I want to leave behind.” 

“It doesn’t get easier,” Mr Tan admitted. “It just becomes clearer. We know her death wasn’t meaningless.” 

A week before my second visit, the family received an anonymous letter through the transplant coordinator. It was from the father who had received Rachel’s liver. “Because of your daughter, I got to walk my child to school. I got to hold her hand and promise I’ll be there as she grows up.” Those words shifted something in the Tans. They have since begun speaking to other families about organ donation, gently encouraging open conversations. 

“We used to think it was a cold, clinical process,” Mdm Tan said. “Now we see it’s deeply human — choosing, in your darkest moment, to give someone else light.” 

When I asked what they would say to those unsure about donation, Daniel answered simply: “You don’t need to be a hero when you’re alive. But you can still become one after.” Rachel didn’t live to see the lives she saved. Yet her final act became her most powerful one. Through immense loss, the Tans gave five families a chance to hold on. In doing so, they found a way to carry their grief with pride, purpose, and peace. Not everyone will face this choice. Yet if you ever do, may you remember Rachel and the family who chose to live on through love.

Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the essays for the Live On Festival 2025 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