Pham Phu Minh, 18

School: Victoria Junior College

Topic: "In giving, we receive; and in saving lives, we honour our own." (Anonymous)

Award: Open Category, 2025

A Leap of Faith

I. Introduction 

In Singapore, 400 people wait in the slowest moving line in the world^[1]. On average, the waiting time for a kidney transplant, the most commonly donated organ, is 9 years in Singapore, a duration that is simply too long for many to survive. Worldwide, the numbers of people waiting in the same line are staggering and in 2024, it was estimated that only less than 10% of global organ demand was being met^[2]. There is hence a critical need for donors in today’s world. Another willing person or family can mean a patient revived, their dreams re-ignited and the prayers of their loved ones answered. 

Yet despite our desperate need for donors, the idea of organ donation unfortunately always makes people squirm. People always ask: Why me? Yet perhaps the real question that should be asked is: Why not me? While there are ample arguments against donation, the benefits are rarely given the spotlight they deserve. Contrary to popular belief, organ donation is not a one-sided sacrifice. Although most countries do not permit monetary forms of compensation for a donated organ, the sacrifice often gives back as much as it takes in the form of crucial life lessons and invaluable experiences. As such, although donors may give part of themselves, many emerge from the experience more whole than before. 

II. Giving To Receive 

Donating an organ—whether in life or after death—is not just a medical procedure. It is a life-altering experience that unfolds in two powerful stages. 

First, in choosing to donate, a donor must confront fear, doubt, and mortality by willingly putting their life on the line for another. This act of courage often becomes a journey of self-discovery, evident from countless heartwarming stories shared online where donors frequently report a profound sense of meaning and satisfaction in knowing their gift has saved or transformed a life. One reward from embarking on the journey to donate an organ is what psychologists term the “helper’s high” — a surge of positive emotions and a sense of purpose that follows acts of altruism. Studies show that these feelings bring lasting psychological and physical benefits, including reduced stress, lower blood pressure, and improved mental well-being. Contrary to claims that such effects are fleeting, research and publications by institutions like the University of California, Berkeley, as well as other notable papers reveal that memories of good deeds endure, offering joy and reassurance even years later^[3]. These memories have the capacity to become emotional anchors, especially in dark times, reminding donors of their capacity to bring good into the world. 

The act of giving an organ can also shift a person’s entire worldview. Coming face to face with, or even simply learning of patients who battle daily for the right to live — such as those with end-stage cystic fibrosis — in a more material space, as opposed to merely reading of their plight off a smartphone screen can awaken a profound appreciation for life’s simplest blessings. Donors can come to feel the pain of the recipient and the blessedness of their own lives, in contrast, more clearly than any article or documentary can project, allowing tasks like walking or breathing, often taken for granted, to be seen anew. This allows donors to internalise experiences not just about suffering, but also about resilience and the human spirit. The decision to help can change how donors view their own challenges, giving them clarity on what truly matters, leaving a lasting impact. 

Besides living donors, deceased donors also play a vital role in saving lives. Organ donation provides families of the deceased a chance to make a difference in the here and now, giving them a sense of direction in their grief, and also allowing the deceased to leave behind a living legacy to “continue” their story. While many countries like Singapore operate under laws such as the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA), which assumes consent, others rely on expressed consent by next of kin. In moments of loss, families often hesitate — driven by grief, religious concerns, or the need for closure, they may decide against donation. There is no shame in doing so. But for families who can find it in themselves to rise above this pain and put it aside for the sake of others, studies have shown that they often find solace and purpose in their decision. In the same study, it was also observed that post-hospital decisional regret was more commonly, although not exclusively seen among families who decline donation, especially if it goes against the wishes of the deceased in life^[4]. Through donating, family members can honor the final wishes of their loved one, and also channel the very values that had made them so dear in life, potentially expediting recovery and helping them process their trauma. 

Lastly, organ donation also takes on additional significance for families of faith. While some religions may have conflicting concerns, most major religions — including Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism — support organ donation as a moral, even sacred act^[5]. Organ donation thus becomes a way to honour the deceased’s life and values as by donating, families can manifest the very religious and spiritual beliefs that their deceased family member had held dear. They can also show understanding of religious teachings in their stead — like those to love one’s neighbour or protect life above all else, referred in Judaism as Pikuach Nefesh. This allows families to find comfort in believing their loved one’s spirit has passed not into nothingness, but into the arms of a benevolent god who will look after them, letting them rest assured that their loved one has passed into legacy and paradise. 

III. After The Gift 

The second half of the donor’s journey begins after the act itself, as the realisation that they have saved a life is often transformative. With newer and more terrible disasters constantly erupting across the globe, pandemics and natural disasters killing thousands, it sometimes becomes hard not to see the numbers as statistics, but as living people. As a result, one may come to feel that saving a single life means little. But from the donor’s perspective, that one life is everything. It is their act of defiance, full of meaning in a world that sometimes feels indifferent. Through organ donation, donors create a pillar from which they can draw inspiration and support until the end of their life. 

This is possible because the act of saving a life is the most powerful expression of the ultimate human desire to matter — to know that our lives, consisting of our values, our beliefs and our actions have had significance. Organ donation provides an avenue for this as it allows donors to act on their values, not just speak of them. While others may spend hours advocating for morality online, donors live their values through sacrifice, and in doing so, they feel the weight of these ideals in a much rawer form, understanding them more profoundly than any armchair activist. As the saying goes that actions speak louder than words, this singular act means more than any amount of preaching. In choosing to donate, donors gain something rare: a life of integrity and deep personal fulfillment. 

For deceased donors and their family members who consent to donation, their gift often impacts not just one life but several, with multiple recipients potentially benefiting from one donor. By donating, the family of the deceased pays homage to their life by passing their generosity and identity forward. With each transplant, a part of the donor lives on in breath, in heartbeat, and in laughter. Beyond the act itself, such selflessness can inspire others with its latent power, normalising the act of deceased organ donation. A single donor can start a chain of kindness—encouraging countless others to give, to love, to act. 

It is often said that: “The more a person gives, the more he receives.” In touching so many lives, a donor’s impact grows long after they are gone, ensuring they are remembered not just with sorrow, but with love, respect, and gratitude. 

IV. Conclusion: A Song Of Kindness 

Organ donation is more than a medical or moral act — it is a powerful affirmation of life and humanity, born from necessity and enabled by selflessness. It teaches us to value existence more deeply, to act bravely for others, and to create meaning in our own limited time. With so many people desperately in need of organs, every act of organ donation is thus that much more valuable. Through organ donation, we can meet the great need for organs, fulfill the prayers of thousands, and give the greatest gift. Every act of such altruism contributes to a wider melody, making life more beautiful for the donors themselves and those around them, while encouraging others to also sing along and add to the song of kindness. Whether through giving in life or after death, the donor changes not just the recipient’s story — but their own.  

References

1. Live on. 400 people wait in line for organ donation. https://www.liveon.gov.sg/about-organ-donation

2. World Health Organisation. Only 10% of global organ needs are met. https://www.who.int/news/item/30-05-2024-seventy-seventh-world-health-assembly---daily-update--30-may-2024

3. Greater good magazine. University of California Berkeley. Memories of good deeds last: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_memories_of_kindness_can_make_you_happy#:~:text=The%20researchers%20found%20that%20study,acts%2C”%20the%20researchers%20write.

4. Post hospital regret is more commonly seen in families who decline donation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1036731424002832#:~:text=Where%20families%20make%20decisions%20that,20

5. Who is eligible to be a donor? Most major religions support organ and tissue donation. Live on: https://www.liveon.gov.sg/about-organ-donation/who-is-eligible-to-be-a-donor

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