Young man donates organs to save more lives

"I do know the pain of suffering from disease and the helplessness of having no cure… I've seen so much sadness and regret that made me want to make my contributions to medical research, and I believe that cancer can be defeated some day." A 17-year-old young man from Hangzhou in East China, who fought cancer for over four years, wrote in his last request for his organs to be donated, People's Daily reported on Sunday.

Zhou Jiangtao was diagnosed osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, early in 2017 when he was only 13 years old. Before that, like most kids his age, he liked reading, watching movies, playing with Lego blocks and was full of expectations for his future.

He made a good recovery after undergoing surgery in Shanghai. That was until last year when the cancer came back. His body suffered great pain as the cancer cells spread to multiple organs in his body, but Zhou still kept himself positive.

He had told his family many times that he wants to donate his corneas and body after death. "Dedication makes life more precious than oneself," he once told his elder sister last year.

According to Zhou's mother, four days before the announcement of his death, he wrote down every word of his request with effort while inhaling oxygen in the hospital. After signing his name on the paper, he let out a long sigh and smiled.

On the day he "left", two patients who have been waiting for cornea transplants were informed they can have the operations. Zhou's body was transferred to Zhejiang University School of Medicine for medical research on the same day.

Many netizens were deeply touched by Zhou's story and said: "Thank you, young man, for being so kind-hearted. There shall be no more pain in heaven."