A Man in His 50s Who Practiced Sharing Despite Rare Disease Leaves, Giving New Hope to 5 People

Donation of Heart, Lung, Liver, and Kidney through Brain Death Organ Donation
Patients Battling Illness Express Willingness to Donate Organs with Sympathy

A man in his 50s who lived a life of sharing despite suffering from a rare disease gifted new life to five people before passing away.

On the 15th of last month, Suyeon Jeong (52) saved five lives through brain-dead organ donation at Inha University Hospital. [Image source=Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency]

On the 18th, the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency announced that Suyeon Jeong (52) donated his heart, lungs, liver, and left and right kidneys at Inha University Hospital on the 15th of last month, saving the lives of five people. Jeong lost consciousness and collapsed in his living room on February 29th. However, he never regained consciousness and fell into a brain-dead state. It is said that Jeong had expressed his wish to donate organs later, feeling sympathy for patients struggling with illness during his lifetime. Although his family initially found it difficult to accept the fact of brain death, they decided to proceed with the donation, believing that saving many lives through donation would have made Jeong happy, as he wished.

Born as the eldest son among one son and one daughter in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, Jeong worked in machine design at a lathe manufacturing company from a young age. According to his family, he was a reliable father and head of the household at home and a kind neighbor who volunteered for parking duty at church for many years. Jeong had been suffering from Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (a rare autoimmune disease presumed to be caused by an immune response against melanocytes) for 20 years, but rather than despairing, he was a warm-hearted person who sought ways to give to his family and those around him within the circumstances he was given. Jeong’s wife said, "Even though he was sick, I am so proud that he did his best for 20 years as a head of the family, husband, and father to our children," and added, "When we meet again in heaven, I hope he will be the first to welcome me. Thank you, and I really love you," delivering her final farewell.

Byeon Hyosun, Acting Director of the Organ and Tissue Donation Agency, said, "Overcoming the hardship of a rare disease and caring for his family and neighbors, his warm heart blossomed into the flower of life-sharing in his final moments."