a day ago
Bedridden his entire life, 11-year-old boy dies and saves 3 lives through organ donation
Kim Yeon-woo, an 11-year-old boy who spent nearly his entire life bedridden, donated his organs to three other children in need after his death on May 24, the Korea Organ Donation Agency said Wednesday.
Born in May 2014 in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Kim began showing neurological symptoms at just one month old, when parts of his forehead and face became paralyzed after crying following a regular vaccination.
Through MRI scans and other detailed examinations at a general hospital, he was found to have a serious brainstem issue that required surgical treatment. Too young to be eligible for surgery, he was expected to wait until he was eight to nine months old.
However, as the paralysis spread across his entire face, he underwent emergency brain surgery at two months old. After that, he spent his days in a hospital bed, relying on a ventilator to breathe.
After suffering cardiac arrest in 2019, Kim experienced a sharp decline in brain activity, and his organs soon began to lose their ability to function properly. He was pronounced brain-dead on May 24, and that same day, his family made the decision to donate his heart and both kidneys to save three other seriously ill children.
'We hoped that, through someone else's body, Yeon-woo could experience the things he never had the chance to do, like eating delicious food and laughing,' Kim's mother said.
'We truly know what it means to care for a child in pain. We sincerely hope the recipients and their families live healthy and happy lives.'
