“Charity Grandma” died, she has a last wish, want to donate diseased lungs for medical research

(Translation made by online Bing Translate) subject to re-editing

Ningbo News
source: Ningbo Evening News at 20:36 on June 28

　　”We have a German patient who died here. She left her will, hoping to donate her sick lungs for medical research, but I couldn’t give a donation. What should I do?” June 28, ICU of Zhangzhou People’s Hospital The doctor of the ward Ouyang Lizhi asked the reporter for help, hoping to complete the last wish for one of her patients.

　　The deceased German patient has lived in Ningbo for more than seventeen years and has been enthusiastic about charity to Chinese for many years. Last year, due to the cost of treatment, the media helped her to raise the cost of treatment.

　　Can the old woman’s will be realized? With the help of doctors, the reporter consulted a number of departments and agencies and found that due to the lack of relevant systems and procedures, patients want to donate their own pathological organs behind them, there are still many problems to be solved.

“Charity Grandma” will die after the death of the lungs

The doctor asked around for directions and institutions that could not be received.

　　In the early morning of June 28, at the ICU ward of the People’s Hospital of Zhangzhou, the 67-year-old German Evelyn (Evelyn) accompanied her husband Eckhard (Eckard) and walked away.

　　After sending away his wife, Eckhard found his wife’s doctor Ouyang Lizhi, hoping she could help her wife reach her will: donate her sick lungs for medical research.

　　Evelyn and Eckhard are from Germany and have lived in Ningbo for more than seventeen years. Eckhard is also the winner of the “Camillia Award” of the Ningbo Municipal Government. After the couple came to Ningbo, they fell in love with this place and have been living in Ningbo. They have been enthusiastic about public welfare and often volunteered.

　　Three years ago, Evelyn was diagnosed with lung cancer. Last year, because there was no medical insurance (including cancer treatment), and all the savings were spent on treatment, Evelyn’s doctor in charge helped her raise the cost of treatment on the crowdfunding website, which caused a lot of media attention. For the foreign couple who have helped many people in Ningbo with love, the citizens of Ningbo have also returned with love. After the story of the couple was reported by the newspaper, they raised more than 100,000 yuan in one day. Tencent’s public welfare platform also raised the theme of “helping charity grandmothers to overcome difficulties” and raised 250,000 yuan for them.

　　Dr. Ouyang told reporters that since February this year, Evelyn has repeatedly relapsed into the ICU ward of the People’s Hospital of Zhangzhou because of repeated episodes. On June 24, Evelyn became more ill and was lying on the ICU bed for the third time. At this point, she has realized that her life is about to come to an end, and she is conscious of her consciousness. She hopes to donate her lungs to medical colleges for research purposes. I hope that one day I can overcome the medical difficulties of lung cancer and leave a will. .

　　”I think my wife’s lungs should be rare. After her death, she has received a lot of treatment. Her lungs should be able to help others.” Eckhard told reporters that he understands and supports his wife’s decision. As the husband, he can only What I did was to help my wife complete her will.

　　”Seeing that this foreign friend is so caring, we also want to help her reach a wish, but after asking for a circle (experts group), I found out that this is not so simple.” Dr. Ouyang said that she asked the Ningbo University School of Medicine and the Municipal Red Cross. They all said that there is no way to do it. I know that this result, Eckhard feels very sorry. 

　　Since the hospital could not store the body for too long, Eckhard transported his wife’s body to the funeral home. He decided to store his wife’s body for one more day, wait a moment, and see if there will be a turnaround.

The reporter contacted and found the receiving institution.

But how to get it has become a problem

　　The patient volunteered to donate his own lung, why is there no place to receive it? The reporter first contacted the medical school of Ningbo University. The relevant person in charge of the college told the reporter that the medical school has no right to receive the organs directly donated by the patients. Because it does not have the qualification to directly accept the donation of the patients, it is necessary to pass the Red Cross to complete the donation.

　　The reporter made a special trip to the City Red Cross Society. The person in charge of the reception of the reporter said that the patients who died after the death donated their diseased lungs, are not within the scope of the Red Cross. “Even if the foreign friend wants to donate the body, according to the relevant regulations of Ningbo City, she must also register the remains of the body before her death. She did not register before the death, nor did she meet the conditions for donation.” The person in charge told the reporter .

　　Located in the National Science and Technology Hospital of Ningbo (Ningbo Second Hospital), the Ningbo Human Biological Sample Library, known as the “Biology Bank”, can store various biological samples including blood, urine, hair, tumor tissue and so on. information. Can Evelyn’s diseased lungs be donated here for medical research?

　　The reporter contacted the Ningbo Human Biology Sample Library. The person in charge told the reporter that the sample bank welcomed the patient’s donated lung samples and thanked the German friend for his contribution to medicine.

　　The reporter informed the Eckhard through the information obtained by Ouyang, and Eckhard also expressed his willingness to donate his wife’s diseased lungs to the Ningbo Human Biological Sample Bank.

　　However, a difficult problem came again. The person in charge of the human biological sample library in Ningbo said that they can receive the organs, tissues, blood and body fluids in vitro, but they do not have the qualification to take organs on the body. Although hospital surgeons are performing surgery on patients every day and have the ability to take organs, taking organs from corpses for research is outside their scope of practice.

　　Do doctors in medical schools and their affiliated hospitals have qualifications for autopsy or organ harvesting for research? The reporter then inquired about the affiliated hospital of Ningbo University and the medical school of Ningbo University. The relevant responsible persons of the two units all said that there are doctors who can do this operation, but there is no legal procedure, and they cannot go without permission unless they are at the Red Cross. Coordinated.

Can you explore a donation path?

The desire to donate pathological organs is realized

　　After a day of coordination, the final result is that both the patient and the family are willing to donate the diseased lung, and the receiving unit is willing to receive the diseased lung, but how is the diseased lung removed from the body? It became the key to completing Evelyn’s last wish.

　　In the interview, the reporter learned that the situation encountered by Dr. Ouyang is not the first time. The person in charge of the affiliated hospital of Ningbo University told the reporter that there was a patient with spinal disease who was very grateful to the medical staff after receiving treatment in the hospital. He hoped that he would donate his own sick organ and donate it to the Ningda Affiliated Hospital for medical research. Later, because I didn’t know how to handle the surgery, I couldn’t do it.

　　”I was the first time I encountered a patient who wanted to donate my sick lung after I died. But I think that as people become more aware, there will be more patients in the future who like Evelyn wish to contribute to medicine. “Ouyang Lizhizhi said that he hopes that Ningbo can explore a path that allows patients to “donate the birth of sick organs for medical research” as a simple wish.

　　 Eckhard said that in Germany, medical institutions can accept sick organs donated by patients. If they can’t do this in Ningbo, he will feel sorry.  Eckhard intends to store his wife’s body at noon on June 29, and if there is no way to donate, he intends to cremate his wife. Can the old man Evelyn’s last wish realized?

Reporter: Sun Meixing

First trial: Tan Chuancai

second trial: Yu Weixin

Final review: Ge Ying