Thaddeus Tan, 16

School: Monfort School (Secondary)

Topic: An email to a classmate on your thoughts on pledging under MTERA and how to respectfully discuss organ donation with his parents.

Dear Ignatius,

I hope you’ve been doing well since we last met! Just before the holidays, we had a conversation about organ donation. Then you mentioned how your parents saw it as a good deed, despite that they were still a little unsure about MTERA. As a person whose parents still constantly worry about, I could really sympathise with them. However I also see why you feel that pledging under MTERA is a meaningful way to support medical research. With that in mind, I’d like to share some of my thoughts and ideas on how you could discuss this topic with your parents respectfully.

To start off, you might be thinking, why do people donate their organs under the MTERA. Well, I suppose the reason is that when you pledge your organs under the HOTA, it is used in transplants to save lives. The MTERA, however, allows you to contribute directly to medical research. A few days ago, I remember reading about an organisation known as the Brain Bank that collects donated brain tissue under the MTERA. These samples are then used to help scientists study neurological diseases like Parkinson's disease and develop better treatments for them. Currently, there are over five hundred donors contributing, so you are definitely not alone. In this way, pledging under the MTERA not only supports current medical research but also complements the HOTA with the potential to benefit many more patients in the long term.

While writing this email, it also suddenly came to me that the reason your parents feel uncomfortable about the MTERA might be because the donation is used for research rather than direct transplants. Unlike the HOTA, the donated organs, like kidneys, do not actually go to a patient, instead they go to labs for medical research. This difference may make it harder for your parents to see how the decision of MTERA makes a real impact on others, especially if they see organ donation merely to directly change someone else's life, thus leaving them feeling hesitant.

At the same time, you might also find yourself wondering whether the research your donation supports will always lead to meaningful outcomes. This is an especially important thing to consider, since just like your parents' concerns, research is not always predictable and can take time. While this uncertainty is real, I think our school values can help remind us of our initial focus in pledging under MTERA. This can be seen in humility, recognising that progress takes time and has integrity to always stay committed to doing what we believe is right, even if it takes a longer time. When considering both your views and your parents,’ it might make it easier for you to talk with them, as you’ll be able to explain not just what you believe, but why pledging under MTERA matters to you so much.

With that in mind, while some of the concerns we talked about come from real uncertainties, others may come from common misunderstandings about MTERA and HOTA, which you could clarify with your parents as well. One common myth of families is that doctors might not try as hard to save a patient if they know they are an organ donor. I can see why this may be worrying, since we put in a lot of trust in our medical system. Reassuringly, Singapore’s organ donation laws make it noticeably clear that a patient’s life always comes first. For example, brain death in Singapore must be certified by two doctors not involved in the care of the patient and not part of the transplant team, this process ensures that selection of a patient for organ transplantation is always fair and transparent.

Another concern people may have with MTERA is whether donated organs and tissues will be managed properly and respectfully in research. It is understandable to feel uneasy about this, since the organs come from your own body and deciding how they are used is a personal choice, which may reflect your values and affect your family. Like the myth about our medical system mentioned earlier, it is good to know that organisations like the brain bank must follow strict guidelines on how donated tissue should be stored and that every step requires consent from you or your parents. As a result, these safeguards ensure that our organs are treated with dignity and that they will always be used to benefit someone else.

After thinking about organ donation and everything we have talked about, I think it’s important to consider how you can mention this with your parents in a productive yet respectful way. One thing to avoid when having this conversation is dismissing their concerns too quickly, even if you feel strongly about your decision, since this may make them feel unheard and less open to your perspective.

In a way, I was also reminded of the stars of love project, which encourages conversation about organ donation through meaningful and compassionate gestures like folding stars to honour donors, instead of trying to persuade anyone. You could take this similar approach, by sharing your reasons first then focusing on their perspective. By framing the discussion this way and connecting it to values that matter to them, your parents are more likely to feel respected and included and in turn, more open to considering MTERA.

In conclusion, after everything that we have discussed, it’s clear that organ donation and pledging under MTERA are personal decisions that involve both your values and your parents' perspectives. Even if your parents need more time to process everything, by including them in your decision, it will certainly make them more open to considering MTERA. I’m looking forward to talking more about this with you when school reopens and I hope this conversation with your parents goes well.

Best regards,
Thaddeus

References

1.    https://str.sg/E2Tf ↗ (opens in new tab)

2.    https://www.liveon.gov.sg/about-organ-donation/when-does-organ-donation-happen/deceased-donor-organ-transplants/ ↗ (opens in new tab)

3.    https://www.singaporehospice.org.sg/organ-donation/#:~:text=FAQs,made%20to%20save%20your%20life ↗ (opens in new tab).

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)