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Wednesday February 27, 2013

Family donates teen’s organs

By TAN SIN CHOW
sctan@thestar.com.my


GEORGE TOWN: The death of a teenager following a road accident will not be in vain as his family has consented to donating his organs.

Although Tio Eng Jet (pic), 18, had not pledged to donate his organs, his family members had agreed that his bones, heart valve and corneas be transplanted to patients who needed them.

They gave the green light to the police officer investigating the accident, who then sought permission from a magistrate court's to allow Penang Hospital to go ahead with the procedures.

An operation was carried out on Monday evening.

Eng Jet was killed when his motorcycle was involved in a crash with a car at about 3.30am on Monday in Penang Road. He died on the spot.

Family members, when met at the Penang Hospital mortuary, asked for privacy to mourn the teenager's death.

Last week, the bones and corneas of a 24-year-old woman, who was stabbed to death in Butterworth on Valentine's Day, were also donated following her family's wishes.

The Star had reported that about 16,000 people were still on a waiting list for organ transplants but there were fewer than 50 actual donors each year.

On Feb 18, the Health Ministry issued a statement, saying that Malaysian laws had outlined requirements that need to be complied with during organ or tissue donation involving those whose death is being investigated by the police.

This included people who died in road accidents and homicides.

The statement stressed that the ministry had not embarked on any initiative to “target” people involved in accidents or homicidal cases, adding that all patients would be treated equally in accordance with the highest ethical standards.

It also noted that the law requires the family's consent and a written authorisation by a magistrate before organ donation can be carried out from any person whose death is being investigated by police.

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