Emergency brain surgery at 60 days old
Family consents to brain-dead organ donation after organ function declines
Kim Yeonwoo, who saved three lives through brain-dead organ donation. Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency
Kim Yeonwoo, an 11-year-old boy who had spent 10 years of his life bedridden, saved three lives and passed away.
On July 2, the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency announced, "On June 24, Kim Yeonwoo passed away after making a brain-dead organ donation at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital."
Born in May 2014 as an only child, Kim Yeonwoo began to show abnormal symptoms shortly after birth, with one side of his forehead and face unable to move. Because he was so young, surgery was delayed, but when the other side of his face also became paralyzed, he underwent emergency brain surgery at just 60 days old.
Afterwards, he lived bedridden with a ventilator. In 2019, his brain function declined due to cardiac arrest, and as time passed, his organs could no longer function properly. At that point, his family agreed to brain-dead organ donation.
Kim's family said, "We hoped that, through the donation, Yeonwoo could experience things he was unable to do by giving other children the chance to do them. We wanted Yeonwoo to live a happy life, eating delicious food and doing what he wanted, even if it was through someone else's body."
Kim's mother said her final farewell: "Yeonwoo, thank you for being born as our son and for enduring so much to come into this world. When we meet again, let's do all the things we couldn't do together. You made us happy, and we love you so much."
Lee Samyeol, President of the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency, stated, "It is important to have a social environment and medical welfare where children can grow up healthy," and added, "I would like to express my deep gratitude to Yeonwoo's parents for making the decision to donate under such difficult circumstances."
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