Donor’s parents moved to make pledge
GEORGE TOWN: A. Tiruna Garasu, 50, had a change of heart about organ donation after his son, Kiran Arasu, 20, agreed to donate his organs before he died in an accident last year.
Tiruna was reluctant to allow the hospital to take his son’s organs, but he eventually agreed to honour his son’s last wish.
Then he visited the Transplant Resource Centre at Penang Hospital to ask about the patients who might have received his son’s organs.
This was when he, along with his wife, made the life-changing decision to become organ donors.
“The doctors told me that my son’s organs would help give many, including children, pregnant women or even accident victims, a second chance at life.
“Today, my son is alive in these people through his organs.
“His decision opened my eyes, and, today, my wife and I are organ donors,” said Tiruna at the Fun Walk held in conjunction with the state-level Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week in Lebuh Pantai here yesterday.
Tiruna, who was invited to speak about his decision to become an organ donor, said he hoped that his story would motivate others to sign up as organ donors.
“There is a lack of awareness and I hope more will sign up. It is a precious gift that we can give to others when we are no longer in this world,” he added.
The latest statistics from the National Transplant Resource Centre show that although the number of Malaysians who pledged their organs is high, the actual number of organ donations has plunged in the last three years.