Young Vietnamese woman with late-stage cancer donates corneas, brings hope for sight to others

Pham Thi H., from the coastal village of Hai Ly in northern Ninh Binh Province, passed away on Friday after a long fight with late-stage cancer.

Before her death, she contacted the tissue bank at Hanoi Eye Hospital 2 in Hanoi to register her wish to donate her corneas.

Despite her illness, H. remained optimistic and often smiled when speaking about her decision.

She said she wanted to give light to others so that people who had lost their vision could have a chance to see the world again.

“Giving is also a way of receiving,” she once shared.

“I give light to someone. When others hear about it, they may choose to do the same. Maybe one day that light will return to my parents or to people around me.”

Her decision was deeply personal.

H. had witnessed many people around her struggle with eye diseases.

Her father suffers from a corneal scar in one eye, while her mother is also undergoing treatment for an eye condition.

In her coastal hometown, many residents live with deteriorating eyesight, and some have lost their sight entirely.

Those experiences motivated the young woman to do something meaningful before her death.

When H. passed away on Friday afternoon, her family immediately informed the tissue bank.

A medical team from Hanoi Eye Hospital 2 quickly set out for Ninh Binh, racing against time as corneas must be retrieved within six to eight hours after a donor’s death.

With the cooperation of her family and local volunteers, the team successfully retrieved both corneas following medical procedures.

The corneas were then transported to the hospital’s tissue bank for processing and preservation.

They will be carefully stored until they are transplanted into patients who have long awaited the chance to regain their sight.

Although the young woman’s eyes closed forever at the age of 26, her final act may soon bring light to two others.

Patients living in darkness due to corneal disease may soon be able to see the faces of their loved ones again and rediscover the world around them.

“We sincerely thank H. and her family for trusting us with such a noble wish,” a representative of the tissue bank said.

“Through this gift, H. continues to live on and see the world in a very special way.”