Jang So-min / Courtesy of Korea Organ Donation Agency
A 9-month-old baby who died after contracting bacterial meningitis has saved the lives of three people through organ donation, the Korea Organ Donation Agency said Thursday.
Jang So-min was declared brain-dead at Samsung Medical Center on May 1 after her condition rapidly deteriorated following days of high fever, according to the agency.
With her parents' consent, the infant's liver, kidneys and small intestine were donated after her death to three patients in need of transplants.
The infant first developed a fever on April 19 and was treated at a local pediatric clinic, but her symptoms persisted for several days. After visiting multiple hospitals, she was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and later declared brain-dead.
Born last July weighing 2.5 kilograms, Jang remained physically fragile throughout her short life, weighing just over 7 kilograms at 9 months old, according to her family.
Her family said a cherry blossom outing this spring became their final memory together.
Her mother, surnamed Park, said she initially opposed organ donation but later agreed after discussions with her husband.
"My husband said he wanted to believe that a part of our daughter would continue to live somewhere in the world," Park said. "Rather than leaving this world without leaving anything behind, we thought it would be better for her to leave after doing something good."
"Whoever's daughter you may become in your next life, I just hope you grow up healthy and without pain," Park said in a final message to her daughter.
Source: Korea Times News
