Yesterday morning, in the intensive care unit of the Jiaxing Armed Police Hospital, Xiaolong, a boy not yet three years old, passed away. Those who had met this boy all said that he was very cute, especially his bright eyes which were full of vitality. Xiaolong's parents firmly believed that their young son would transform into an angel. In their grief, this couple decided to donate all of their son's useful organs to those in need.
At 3 PM yesterday afternoon at the Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, one of Xiaolong's corneas was transplanted to an uncle whose left eye was nearly blind; the other cornea will be transplanted today to a 1.5-year-old little girl.
Xiaolong's parents, Zhou Changchun and Xiao Kunying, come from Neijiang, Sichuan. About seven or eight years ago, they came to Haiyan, Jiaxing, where they worked on a ship transporting mud for a local brick factory. Their elder daughter is already in university in Chengdu. In February 2009, the birth of their son Xiaolong added much vitality and laughter to their family.
During their wandering days in Jiaxing, the iron-clad boat used for transporting mud was not only Zhou Changchun's livelihood tool but also their temporary home.
On the morning of December 19th, Xiao Kunying was doing housework inside the boat when she suddenly heard a "splash" outside the cabin. By the time she ran out, her soul had almost fled—her son had fallen into the water!
Xiao Kunying panicked and shouted for help continuously. A man from the opposite boat shed his coat and jumped into the river, rescuing the child.
When Zhou Changchun arrived upon hearing the news, he saw his son lying motionless on the deck, drenched and unresponsive. He lifted the child upside down to drain the water that had been inhaled and then performed artificial respiration.
After completing the first aid, before the ambulance arrived, the site manager Zhu Mingguang immediately drove the child to the Jiaxing Armed Police Hospital. After the doctor's emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the child's heartbeat and breathing were restored, but he remained in a deep coma and was quickly transferred to the intensive care unit.
The child might never wake up again. In their sorrow, the parents decided to donate the body.
Both Xiaolong's parents are over forty. This drowning incident brought back painful memories—they originally had a son who tragically lost his life in a river accident while swimming in 2007 at the age of twelve.
It’s easy to imagine how tormented their hearts must have been when Xiaolong met with another mishap.
From the doctors, the couple learned that the child's condition was very grim and they needed to prepare for the worst—"Even if he can be saved, he will likely remain in a vegetative state."
Ultimately, they made a difficult decision: fearing their child would never wake up again, they decided to let him go peacefully and donate all of his usable organs so that his visit to this world would not be in vain.
They contacted the Jiaxing Red Cross Society, who assessed that the child's corneas could save lives.
Through the Jiaxing Red Cross Society, Xiaolong's parents yesterday contacted cornea donation volunteer Zhu Qiangrong, willing to first donate their child's corneas to help those who had lost their sight. Zhu Qiangrong arrived early yesterday morning at the Jiaxing Armed Police Hospital and handled the cornea donation procedures for Xiaolong.
At 10:30 AM yesterday, Xiaolong's parents entered the ICU to see their child for the last time. The father's rough, dark hand touched his son's tender face, tears streaming uncontrollably. The couple changed their son into a new set of clothes: "Baby, you always wore adult-altered clothes before, today you finally get to wear a new set of clothes. Go well..."
Subsequently, the ophthalmologist stepped forward, bowed deeply, and removed the child's precious corneas.
Almost simultaneously, the blindness prevention guidance center located at the Provincial People's Hospital was busy: the head nurse flipped through the registration book of patients urgently needing corneal surgery and called the two patients at the top of the list—Xiaolong's diamond-like transparent corneas would bring them light.
The first on the list was Zhang Xingyue from Xiaoshan. At the age of 48, more than ten years ago, Zhang Xingyue's left eye suffered a viral infection, leading to keratitis that evolved into corneal leukoma opacity, almost blinding his left eye. At 3 PM yesterday, everything was ready, and one of Xiaolong's corneas was successfully transplanted to Zhang Xingyue. The chief ophthalmologist Xu Zhineng estimated: if there were no unexpected incidents, today he would be able to see a clear world again.
The other cornea will be donated today to a 1.5-year-old baby named Yue (a pseudonym).
Yue suffers from right-eye corneal conjunctival dermoid, a congenital abnormality similar to a tumor, which may grow with age until it covers the pupil, causing blindness. Tumor removal plus corneal transplantation is the ideal treatment method, and the earlier the corneal transplantation, the less harm it will do to her.
At noon yesterday, after receiving the call, Yue's parents immediately rushed from Xiaoshan to the Provincial People's Hospital. Due to the child having eaten lunch, and the surgery requiring fasting for 8 hours under general anesthesia, the surgery was postponed until today.