Daughter of National Merit Recipient and Mother of Three Shares Life with Three, Then Passes Away

Helping 100 Patients Recover Through Human Tissue Donation

A mother in her 40s with two sons and one daughter saved three lives through organ donation and passed away.

On the 23rd, the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency announced that on the 1st, Ms. Park Hye-eun (43) donated her heart, lungs, liver, and left kidney to three people through brain-dead organ donation at Yangsan Pusan National University Hospital. Ms. Park also helped the recovery of about 100 patients with functional disabilities through human tissue donation.

The late Hye-eun Park. Provided by Korea Organ Donation Agency

Ms. Park was transported to the hospital via 119 emergency services in the early morning of the 25th of last month after complaining of respiratory distress but did not regain consciousness and entered a brain-dead state. The bereaved family said that influenced by her father, a national merit recipient, she always took the initiative to help those in need and had expressed a desire to do good and leave the world after seeing news about organ donation during her lifetime. The family stated that she decided to donate so that she could be remembered by her children as a proud mother.

Born as the youngest of one son and two daughters in Busan, Ms. Park was lively, often smiling, and had a friendly personality, greeting people first. She enjoyed cooking and shared the food she made with those around her, and recently, she learned baking and shared bread. Ms. Park’s husband, Mr. Lee Si-taek, said, "She wanted our son to become a professional soccer player, and we will work hard to make that dream come true. Thank you so much for coming to me, I miss you. I love you," delivering his final farewell.

Ms. Park’s 10-year-old youngest daughter, Lee Ji-min, said to her mother, "Please become an angel and take good care of us. I will also try to become a good adult. Since you did a good deed, you will be happier. I love you, Mom."

Lee Sam-yeol, director of the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency, said, "The beautiful image of the donor who saved other lives at the end of her life will warmly and brightly illuminate society."