Chinese father donates organs of daughter, 9, who died after being knocked down in school corridor and hit her head

A Chinese father who donated his nine-year-old daughter’s organs after she died from injuries caused by an accident at her school said the school has apologised to him and vowed to strengthen safety management.

Huang Qin’s daughter, nicknamed Tongtong, died three months ago after being knocked down by a classmate in the corridor of their primary school in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, southern China, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported.

Earlier this week the father said on social media that the school, whose name was not mentioned, made an apology, compensated him and punished the teachers for their carelessness in delaying sending the girl for medical treatment.

Tongtong was knocked down by a classmate when the students were running “excitedly” out of the classroom to attend a PE class on the morning of Oct 20, 2021. Her head bumped into a wall and she fainted on the spot.

Huang said that the corridor’s surveillance camera showed a PE teacher having to half-carry, half-drag his daughter to the teachers’ office because she had lost consciousness, with her arms and head hanging down.

Some time later, when the girl woke up, her form teacher let her drink a cup of red sugar water and asked her if she felt uncomfortable. The teacher said the girl shook her head to express that there was nothing wrong with her, the report said.

The form teacher asked the student who pushed Tongtong to come to the office, asking whether she would forgive that student whose gender was not released. Tongtong said she had forgiven her classmate, the teacher told Huang.

“She was so young that she didn’t realise the seriousness of her injury. She then ran out to attend the PE class,” said the father.

He said he only learned about the incident several hours later when a teacher called him to tell him of his daughter’s injuries.

“She told me she forgot to eat lunch at noon. This is the last sentence my daughter left me,” Huang was quoted as saying. “I was distraught. I scolded the teachers, blaming them for not detecting the problem earlier.”

He said he saw that a lump the size of an egg had appeared above his daughter’s ear. He called the ambulance, which did not show up for some time. Huang then drove his own car to take the girl, who was not able to swallow, to hospital

Doctors said there was blood in Tongtong’s brain, an indicator for them not to carry out any surgery. Nine days later, the girl died from brain damage.

Huang decided to donate seven of his daughter’s organs, including her corneas, heart and kidneys.

“When I signed the organ donation document, I cried and my hands shook. The images of my child, so lively and cute, appeared in front of me,” he said.

“I don’t want to be a hero praised by others. I just want to let my daughter’s heart continue beating,” Huang wrote on social media.

“I hope she could stay in this world in another way. It is also a motivation for us to live on. I feel relieved that she has helped other people and saved their lives. We have received warmth from society before and now we’ve tried our best to return to society. I believe my daughter will support my decision,” wrote the father.

This article was first published in South China Morning Post.