Donation of remains: A life-and-death pact of an elderly couple in Gansu

Journalist Wen Jie

On January 3, the elderly Ouyang Zhang, the body donor, died. The staff of the Red Cross Society of Gansu Province went to the First Hospital of Lanzhou University and went through the relevant procedures for donating the remains.

As early as 2003, after Ouyang Zhang and Du Changping had the idea of donating their bodies, the two went to the Basic Medical College of Lanzhou University Medical College together and registered as the first couple in our province to donate their bodies free of charge as a family unit.

It is understood that Ouyang Zhang was born in 1920, a native of Yixing, Jiangsu Province. In 1953, Ouyang Zhang responded to the call of the state to support the Great Northwest and came to Lanzhou to work in the Northwest Geological Bureau.

On January 4, in a ward on the 14th floor of the First Hospital of Lanzhou University, the reporter met Du Changping, who is 85 years old this year. The old man had gray hair, kindness and gentleness.

When it comes to donating the body, Du Changping is very calm.

"I've had this idea for a long time, and I learned about the donation of the body through television and newspapers. At that time, I felt that after I died, it was a big deal, and it was to buy a cemetery. The land is so tight, let's die, don't do this, save some land for the country... After the discussion, in 2003 we went to hand in the photos and went through the donation procedures. ”

Du Changping told reporters that later, he contacted the person in charge of the donation registration station intermittently, just to tell them that we are still alive and the remains should be donated!

The eldest son of the old man told reporters that in early 2015, his father was not in good health and was often hospitalized. Due to the change in the contact information of the first donation unit, the previous person in charge could not be contacted. In a hurry, we contacted the old cadres of the Gansu Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources and entrusted them to contact the Provincial Red Cross Society and re-register the donation of the remains.

"We respect the wishes of our parents, and we do what they think." The second son of the old man told reporters that his father often said that he took a lot of care of himself organizationally, but he did very little for the party and the country, and he paid little back to society, and donating his body was also hoping to repay the society.

"It makes more sense for people to take care of them when they are alive than to do a lot of work after death." Grandma Du said.

After the death of the elderly Ouyang Zhang, the family did not issue an obituary. Some former friends still learned about the death of the elderly and donated their bodies through the Internet and newspapers, and they went to mourn.

The reporter learned from the Gansu Provincial Red Cross Society that as of now, more than 680 people in our province have registered the donation of remains, and a total of 32 people have completed the donation of remains. Jia Wuliang, director of the Health Promotion Office of the Red Cross Society of Gansu Province, told reporters that the province has built a memorial park for Red Cross remains and organ donors, and the names of 31 remains donors and 14 organ donors have been engraved forever in the memorial garden, and their deeds will always be remembered by future generations.

"Body donation is mainly used for medical teaching and clinical pathological diagnosis, which is of great significance to improve the level of diagnosis and treatment." It's a kind of great love, a spirit of the times. I also hope that more people will understand and understand the donation of remains and carry forward this spirit of the times! Jia Wuliang said.