IPOH, Oct 5 (Bernama) -- "I am ready to sign the papers to donate my organs upon my death as I have no need for them after that," said the father of the 15-year-old organ donor whose heart was given to Tee Hui Yi, the girl who had been kept alive for the past one year by a mechanical heart powered by a 9kg battery pack.
He believes that it is more meaningful to donate his organs to those who need them.
His son, whose lungs, kidneys and liver were also harvested, was diagnosed as brain dead following an accident in Batu 10, Lekir, in Sitiawan, Perak.
The man, a staff at a madrasah (Quran school) in Sitiawan, told Bernama today that he had intended to donate his organs after reading a newspaper article on organ donation before he got married.
"When my son was pronounced dead, I, as the next-of kin, agreed to donate his organs," he said.
The man said he had sought the advice of friends at the Perak Islamic Religious Department (Jaip) before making the decision to donate his son's organs.
"They told me that donating organs is the same as donating blood and whoever does it is making a huge sacrifice because not everybody can do this," he added.
He said the family accepted his son's death and was happy that his organs could help save the life of others.
"We sincerely wanted to donate our eldest son's organs and are not hoping for any returns," he added.
He has five other children.
However, earlier today in PUTRAJAYA, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek revealed that Tee needed a second heart transplant from a donor in Johor Baharu after her body rejected the first heart received from the Sitiawan schoolboy.
Meanwhile, Dr Chua's special technical officer Dr Teng Seng Chong had advised the media to respect the privacy of donors' families who wished their identities not be revealed.
"The media should not pressure the families into giving interviews as the Health Ministry is concerned that it could adversely affect its efforts in getting more people to donate their organs," he said.
His statement came after complaints from the Sitiawan teenager's father about his comments appearing in certain newspapers when he did not give such interviews.
-- BERNAMA
This article was originally published in bernama.com
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