Li Yixuan, 14

School: Nan Hua High School

Topic: Journey of a transplanted organ

A Second Chance

I was born in darkness.

Not the poetic kind humans write about in books. I mean literal darkness – warm, wet, endless darkness. I spent years curled neatly inside a man named Jack, folding and unfolding like silk ribbons, digesting fried chicken and spicy noodles after work. I knew his rhythm better than anyone. His nervousness before dates. The sour churn of heartbreak. The violent flips whenever he lies. My best friend, Heart, and I were both two of the organs working tirelessly for his body to function properly. I thought everything was going smoothly, until one day everything just stopped.

No warning. Just silence.

The body around me became quieter by the second. Organs began shutting down like lights in a collapsing city. Blood stopped arriving with its usual warmth. Even Heart was feeling weak.

“Beep! Beep! Bee….” The sound of the machine was like a shooting pistol, and that was the moment my best friend stopped beating. I was in a shock, panic rising up inside of me. “What could this mean? Am I going to die too? Heart, can you hear me? Answer me, please!” I was starting to tear up, clinging on to Heart’s hand tightly, refusing to let go.

“Intestine…” Heart said weakly, his voice barely above a whisper. “My time has come. Please, live on after me.” With that, Heart closed his eyes peacefully.

I was panicking. What is happening? Why is Heart not beating anymore? I was on the verge of tears. Anxiety was a thin stream of fear trickling through my mind. I could not go on without my best friend! “Wait, what? Why are you not with me anymore? Please, I cannot do this without you!” I was so scared, terrified of what was going to happen to me, thinking I was the next to go. However, fate took an unexpected turn.

Suddenly, there was a large pair of hands cutting me out from a place I called home. Placed in sterile plastic bags filled with cold organ preservation solution, shock and nervousness banged on the door of my heart. What is this place? Why are the lights so blinding? The coldness of the ice around made me feel sick, like it was slowly drowning me inside. My face felt like it was going to freeze. I was unable to voice out all my questions. Time ticked by slowly as I sank lower into the cold pile of ice, unsure of what was happening to me.

Humans talk about transplants like replacing broken machine parts, but organs remember. We memorise every pulse, every tiny habit of the body we live in.

Then came Anna.

A sixteen-year-old girl who thought her failed intestine meant this was the end. She was never full, no matter how much she ate, waiting for someone just like me.

They stitched me in her. Once in, her immune system attacked immediately, not waiting for anyone. White blood cells swarmed me like soldiers charging into war. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry.

Instead I endured.

This loneliness did not leave. I received many dirty looks from the other organs. I wanted everything to go back to how it used to be, with my best friend, Heart, working together to provide energy to Jack. I did realise, accepting another organ was going to be tough, because who would not want everything to continue the way it used to be? With all your close friends, the organs you consider family.

Acceptance was not the same as belonging. Belonging somewhere you were always meant to be. Now, you just feel like an intruder, disrupting a sequence.

After some time, the other organs started to tolerate me, working together to keep Anna’s body functioning and healthy. Soon, I realised small changes between Anna and Jack. Anna had a sweet tooth, indulging in different desserts such as cake and lollies, while Jack seemed more into savoury food.

I began learning her rhythms too.

The nervous flutter before presentations.

The happy little dance when she achieved awesome grades.

These little movements surprised me more every day, as Jack had never been through similar things before.

I felt very wholesome, realising something I had never noticed before. We organs do not need to belong to one person only. We can be passed along so that our previous owner’s legacy continues to live on. In this way, we can give hope to someone in their journey 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)