Phoon Jia Xuan, 14

School: Evergreen School (Secondary)

Topic: Journey of a transplanted organ

The Angel Within

Beep…

That continuous, sharp sound was the first thing that told me Elena Adams was dead. She was gone, and nothing could bring her back. The surgeons surrounding her body had just cut her open, honouring her final wish to become an organ donor; even in death, her kindness remained.

Elena was a star gymnast. At only sixteen, she had become the youngest person to win nationals. Her body was healthy. I was healthy. 

Her lungs were healthy.

Her kidneys were healthy.

Her liver, I, was healthy.

But good things never last long.

During a rehearsal for a showcase, she collapsed. A sudden heart attack. Dead before she could even reach the hospital. I still remember her parents’ broken sobs, the cries of two people who had lost their only daughter in an instant. Elena used to talk about becoming an organ donor when she died, and her parents would always dismiss it with a laugh. They never imagined that day would come so soon.

The surgeons finally removed me from Elena. Cold air struck me as the bright white lights of the operating theatre illuminated the rest of her organs being taken away. Quickly, they sealed me inside a sterile container and carried me through the hospital in a box lined with ice.

A few hours later, I found myself in another operating theatre. As they lifted me out, I caught sight of the man who was to become my new owner.

Large and burly, his pale skin was marked with bruises while dark veins trailed down his arms. His stomach was swollen – clear signs of liver failure.

“Patient Jason Miller. Forty-two. Liver failure caused by alcohol abuse.”

As they prepared me for the transplant, I felt an emotion foreign to me: rage.

Why was I supposed to serve this man?

Why was he the one being saved?

He had destroyed himself.

Elena was perfect. Disciplined, intelligent, responsible – everything Jason Miller was not. She had spent her life caring for herself and the people around her, while he had drowned himself in bottles until his own body began to fail.

Why was she not the one who survived?

The thought echoed endlessly in my mind, clinging to me like a shadow of the life I once had.

Hours later, I was inside Jason Miller. I twisted against him, wishing somehow to be torn back out. Hatred burned through me as his body slowly reacted to my presence, and he began waking from the anaesthesia. Around me, the other organs were exhausted, worn down by years of alcohol and neglect.

A groan escaped him. His body stirred before he slowly sat upright. From where I was, I could glimpse the hospital room – white sheets, pale walls, and not a single visitor in sight.

Not surprising.

Then, a voice broke through the silence.

“Papa! You’re awake!”

A young girl burst through the door, no older than Elena had been. Golden curls framed her face, and her bright eyes reminded me painfully of ocean waves beneath sunlight, just like Elena’s. She wrapped her arms around Jason, her warmth spreading through him… and through me.

“Yes, Myra,” Jason whispered hoarsely. “Papa’s here. And I’m not leaving you again.”

Guilt and relief trembled through his voice as he held her tightly.

“Papa,” the girl asked softly, “did an angel save you?”

Jason lowered his gaze.

“Yes. A young angel gave me her liver. And I swear to you, with her gift, I will spend every day becoming someone worthy of it. I wasted too much time choosing a bottle over you… I won’t make that mistake again.”

Myra smiled, her eyes shining.

“Then part of the angel lives inside you now,” she said gently. “So you have to live for her too.”

And suddenly, I understood.

Elena had not vanished. Part of her still remained – not just within me, but within the life she had saved. Her kindness had outlived her heartbeat, continuing quietly within someone she had never even known.

For the first time since leaving her body, my anger faded.

Perhaps I was never meant to decide who deserved life.

Perhaps my purpose was simply this: to carry it forward.

Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the essays for the Live On Festival 2026 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 ↗ (opens in new tab)