“A Trip to Vietnam With Her Daughter Was Her Last”... Brain-Dead Mother Donates Organs to Three People Before Passing Away [Warm Stories]

[Financial News]  A woman in her 50s who put others first even while battling a long illness has become a star in the sky after donating her organs following brain death and giving three people a new lease on life.

According to the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency on the 7th, Gu Jin-hee, 55, donated her liver and both kidneys at Kosin University Gospel Hospital in Seo-gu, Busan, on the 18th of last month, saving three people before she passed away.
Gu suddenly had difficulty breathing and collapsed from a brain hemorrhage while traveling in Vietnam with her daughter on the 12th of last month. She was taken to a local hospital but did not regain consciousness. She was transferred to a hospital in Korea and received treatment, but was ultimately declared brain-dead.
In keeping with Gu's wishes, which she had shared with her family while alive, her bereaved family agreed to donate her organs.
Her husband, Kim Gi-seon, said, “My wife and I often talked about whether donating organs at the end of our lives would be a good thing,” adding, “Our daughters said they had heard the same from their mother, so we decided to honor the deceased's wishes.”
The fact that Kim's mother donated her body when she passed away in 2021 also influenced Gu and her family. The couple's two daughters likewise agreed to the donation in keeping with the family's values of helping others and having a positive influence, as well as their mother's wishes.
Gu, who was born in Seoul, married her husband in 1994, and they had two daughters. After being diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenia while pregnant in 2001, she did not respond well to treatment and underwent repeated hospitalizations and treatment over 25 years.
Even when she was unwell, Gu put her family and those around her before herself. After moving to Busan in 2015 because of her husband's work, she took part in a faith group at his company and supported employees and their families whenever they faced difficulties. She cared for their young children and helped new employees adjust, while also visiting fellow patients to comfort them and taking part in overseas volunteer work in Cambodia, Mongolia and elsewhere.

Traveling with her family was Gu's greatest joy whenever her health was stable. Her husband, Kim, an airline captain, often arranged family trips after seeing how happy she was when she could forget her pain while traveling. They went on trips together as many as three or four times a year, and those trips became treasured memories for the family. The day before Gu collapsed in Vietnam, the destination of their final trip, she told her younger daughter, Jiwon, “I came with you to show you this, even though it was hard for me.” Jiwon is said to have carried those words in her heart ever since.
Her older daughter, Jisu, vowed, “I’ll keep thinking about what Mom would have done and carry on her values.” Her younger daughter, Jiwon, said, “I was so happy to have you as my mom.”
Kim bade his wife a final farewell: “Honey, it’s been 33 years since I met you. I’ll treasure the happy times we shared. Now rest easy and don’t worry, in a place without pain. I loved you, and I was so grateful to you. Goodbye.”

[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter