22-Year-Old Aspiring Nurse Donated Organs After Brain Death, Saving 8 Lives

A 22-year-old woman who dreamed of becoming a nurse gave eight people the gift of new life by donating her organs while brain-dead before passing away. According to the Korea Organ Donation Agency (KONOS) on the 5th, Jeon Soo-yeon, 22, donated her heart, lungs, liver, both kidneys, and both eyes at Chonnam National University Hospital on February 23. Human tissues, including skin, were also donated.

Jeon collapsed suddenly and was rushed to the hospital, but she never regained consciousness and was declared brain-dead. Her parents, who had previously discussed organ donation as a family, decided to donate their daughter's organs.

Jeon had a quiet, introverted personality but was a youngest daughter who always put her family first. From a young age, she gave up the things she wanted for her older sister, who was just one year her senior and had long battled illness, trying her best not to burden her family. Her mother, Jeong Young-soon, recalled: "Because her sister was sick, Soo-yeon grew up early. She was a solid pillar for our family, and to me, she was a daughter like a friend I could open my heart to."

During her school years, Jeon showed interest in various fields, learning baking and earning a national beautician license, and she had recently been preparing to obtain a nursing assistant certification. She had also saved money with the goal of attending university and becoming a nurse.

Out of a wish for Jeon's act of life-sharing to be long remembered, her family shared her story about eight months after the donation. Her mother delivered a final farewell to her daughter: "Soo-yeon, don't be in pain up there, and pursue freely all the things you couldn't do here. Live happily. Don't worry about your sister or Mom and Dad—do whatever you want. Thank you for being born as my daughter. I love you."

Lee Sam-yeol, head of the Korea Organ Donation Agency, said, "Jeon Soo-yeon wanted to become a nurse and care for the sick, and though she couldn't fully realize that dream, she delivered hope to eight people in her final moments. I am grateful to the bereaved family for making the decision to share life amid their sorrow." The cumulative number of brain-death organ donors this year stood at 381 as of the 2nd. Last year, there were a total of 370 brain-death organ donors.