Body organs of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student who died in a accident in Slovakia last month have been donated to four patients in Slovakia, said in a statement issued by the NTU on Tuesday (6 Dec).
In their visit to Slovakia to attend to the matters of their deceased son last month, Justin’s parents had agreed to donate his heart, liver and two kidneys and those are already given to four patients in the country.
Justin’s father said in a statement that it is something that Justin had wanted.
“Less than a year before the incident, he told me and Malcolm (his brother) that he would definitely without fail donate his organs upon his passing,” the father stated.
Mr Tan wrote that he made the decision to donate Justin’s organs in Slovakia, where doctors could perform the transplants immediately, after considering the long travel and the challenge of transferring the organs back to Singapore.
He also said in the statement that although Justin’s body has been cremated, “We know that some parts of him continue to live in the bodies of four other people”.
“I believe that Justin had been here for a reason,” he said.
“We hope that Justin’s gift to them will inspire them to live fully and with the same positive spirit that our precious son has always had.”
Justin had died without being awakened after two days in the hospital, the doctors certified him brain-dead. Mr Tan said, “Despite the current sadness, I’m heartened that we did everything we could to make his final days as comfortable as possible.”
“I am proud of what Justin had achieved in life, and I am heartened to be able to fulfil his last wish. He will be missed by so many, he has touched many lives in a short time.” The statement also wrote that the family also expressed their thankfulness to everyone for their kind words and supports during the difficult time.
Justin Tan Honng Tze (23) was driving a rented car during a storm in Slovakia that day when a tree fell on his car and hit him on the head. He was found unconscious by rescuers and brought to a local hospital but did not awakened.
The Straits Times reported, upon hearing of the accident and his death, eighteen of his classmates, who were also on exchange in the Czech Republic, made a 400km train journey to see Justin for the last time in the hospital.
One of them, a fellow NTU mechanical engineering student, Tan Choon Yong said: “Despite the distance, the group of us felt it was necessary to send off Justin on his final journey.”
“I believe Justin lived his life to the fullest and had zero regrets. Justin may be gone, but he will never be forgotten. Somewhere in Slovakia, his heart is still beating,” he said.
Chair of NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Louis Phee, remembered him as an academically strong student who was full of energy and a nature lover.
The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is planning a special memorial service in January for Justin’s schoolmates and professors to pay tribute to him.