Orla Wates, a 19-year-old British teenager, died on April 2nd after being involved in a motorcycle crash while traveling the Ha Giang Loop in northern Vietnam. According to The Guardian, Viet Nam News reported that she was taken to Hanoi's Việt Đức Friendship Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.
Key Takeaways
Orla Wates, a 19-year-old British teenager, died on April 2nd after a motorcycle crash while traveling the Ha Giang Loop in northern Vietnam. Her organs were donated to five critically ill Vietnamese patients.
- Orla Wates was riding pillion when the driver lost control and she was run over by an oncoming truck
- Her parents, Andrew and Henrietta Wates, flew to Vietnam to say their goodbyes and participated in an appreciation ceremony at the hospital
- The family donated her organs, saving five critically ill Vietnamese patients
- This is the first case of multi-organ donation from a foreign citizen to a Vietnamese hospital
- The cause of the accident remains under investigation
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed its consular staff were supporting Wates’s family during this difficult time. The Ha Giang Loop is a popular 250-mile road trip that winds through the Vietnamese mountains near the border with China, often frequented by tourists and inexperienced motorcyclists who ride pillion in groups with tour operators.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation, but it is understood that Orla was riding pillion on the back of a motorcycle when the driver lost control. She was thrown to the ground and then run over by an oncoming truck, causing extensive injuries, as reported by Daily Mail.
In tributes shared with Viet Nam News, Orla's parents described her as beautiful, independent, and very funny. Her mother expressed gratitude to the hospital's ICU team for caring for Orla and revealed that the family had chosen to donate her organs to save others. The donation included her liver, two kidneys, and two corneas, which were transplanted to patients at the hospital according to Daily Mail. A hospital representative praised the family's compassionate decision.
The BBC reported that organ donations had been made to five critically ill Vietnamese patients at the hospital. This marks the first case of multi-organ donation from a foreign citizen to a Vietnamese hospital, as noted by Daily Mail. Vietnam's minister of health wrote a letter thanking Orla's family for their decision.
The Wates family participated in an appreciation ceremony at the hospital, attended by British ambassador Iain Frew. Andrew Wates expressed gratitude to the medical team and shared that his daughter would have wanted her organs donated. The patients who received the transplanted organs are recovering well according to Daily Mail.
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