Nguyễn Văn Hải (right), a teacher of chemistry, is one of the first teachers at Nguyễn Du High School registering to donate his organs and body after death. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Nhị

BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU — Teachers and students of a high school in the southern province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province have pledged to donate organs posthumously to save people and for scientific purposes.

Participating in the Science and Technology Contest for High School Students in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu in 2018 and 2022 has changed the perception of many teachers, parents and former students of Nguyễn Du High School, making them understand the humane meaning of organ donation after death to save lives and do scientific research.

With more than 40 years of history, Nguyễn Du High School in Chấu Đức District currently has 27 classes with 72 teachers, of which, there are 36 teachers, two students' parents and one former student who registered to donate organs and bodies after death.

In this list, there are people who have both registered to donate organs and their bodies for medicine research.

List of teachers of Nguyễn Du High School registering to donate organs and bodies for scientific purposes. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Nhị

Dương Thị Thanh Huyền, the school’s vice principal, said that in the 2018-2019 school year, the project "Changing Awareness about Organ Donation - Challenges and Beliefs for High School Students" by students Đinh Hữu Thiên Phúc in 11th grade and Phạm Hùng in 12th grade, who participated in the provincial Science and Technology Contest for High School Students, really changed perceptions and led to the humane decisions of the teachers themselves.

“That year, 18 teachers, two students' parents and one former student of the school signed an application to donate organs after their death in the hope of saving many lives,” Huyền recalled.

Nguyễn Thị Thúy, a retired teacher of technology, was the instructor for Hùng and Phúc’s project on tissue and organ donation.

The sharing of organ donation stories in many forms, such as seminars, links on websites and questionnaires for assessment, helped students orient and gradually change their awareness about tissue and organ donation, Thuý said.

“I was really moved by the project and was the first teacher at the school to sign up for organ donation,” Thuý said.

The teacher said that when she went to the hospital, she felt pity and compassion for the patients waiting for an organ transplant.

Since then, she realised that the organ donation was absolutely the right thing to do.

“And luckily, everyone in my family supported my action,” the teacher said.

“I hope that after I died, parts of my body could save the lives of many others,” she said.

Until now, although retired, Thuý still participates in disseminating information for friends and relatives about organ and body donation. Thanks to that, many people have boldly signed up for organ and body donation at the Human Organ Transplantation Co-ordination Unit of Chợ Rẫy Hospital in HCM City.

Meanwhile, two students Nguyễn Thị Thuý Ngân and Phạm Cường participated in the provincial High School Science and Technology Contest in the 2022-2023 school yearwith the project "Spreading and Changing the Perception of Body Donation for Science among High School Students".

This project won the fourth prize of the contest and received a strong response from the teachers.

Immediately after that, 18 teachers inside and outside the school registered to donate their bodies for medicine, among them teachers who had previously registered to donate organs to save lives.

Ngân said: “After winning the prize, I mobilised my parents to donate their bodies for scientific purposes.”

“At first, my father was also very confused. However, after being persuaded, he agreed to sign an application to donate his body after death,” Ngân said.

Meanwhile, Cường persuaded his brother and parents to register to donate organs.

In particular, Cường intends to register to participate in organ and body donation for scientific research when he is eligible.

Nguyễn Văn Hải, a teacher of chemistry who was one the first people to donate his body for science, said that he registered to donate organs after his death with the desire to do something meaningful.

“As a teacher guiding students to write projects to participate in the contest, I gradually changed my perception and came to the decision to register to donate my body for scientific research,” Hải said.

When he decided to donate his body to science, he was opposed by his family. However, through analysis and persuasion, the family agreed with his wish.

Dư Thị Ngọc Thu, a doctor and head of the Human Organ Transplantation Co-ordination Unit of Chợ Rẫy Hospital, said that on average, a normal person after death can save at least seven people and at most 13 people.

Therefore, the registration of organ donation after death is of great significance in medicine, and saves the lives of patients, Thu said.

The deeds of the students and teachers of Nguyễn Du High School are very meaningful and have been widely discussed in the community, said the doctor.

As a result, by the end of 2022, 17 more teachers registered to donate their bodies to science, including teachers who had previously registered to donate organs after their death.

With the concept of "saving people, maintaining life forever", these beautiful, humane and sacred actions show the humanity in the province called the Eastern Red Soil Region. — VNS