Family agonizes over decision to donate child's organs
Asahi Shimbun | Akiko Okazaki 
Photo: Hanano Oyama holds a Mother’s Day present in Singapore on May 12. (Provided by Norimichi Oyama)
As parents, the Oyamas came face to face with one of the worst nightmares anyone who has loved a child can imagine: the brain death of their little girl and then having to decide whether to let her go in order to donate her organs so that other children could live.
The daughter of the Japanese couple living in Singapore, 18-month-old Hanano Oyama was a bright girl who liked singing and dancing.
On the evening of June 29, the family was relaxing poolside at their home. At some point though, the mother noticed that little Hanano was missing. After a frantic search, she found her floating in the pool.
The distraught mother called out her name and immediately began applying CPR, but to no avail. Little Hanano’s lips began turning purple and she never regained consciousness.
Soon after, she was rushed to a hospital by ambulance, where after about 40 minutes of trying to resuscitate the girl, doctors managed to restart her heart. However, her brain had been severely damaged. “Is she brain dead?†her father, Norimichi Oyama, asked the doctor. The doctor nodded, sadly.
But the color in her face remained flush, and the rest of her body was functioning normally. Playing songs from her favorite Japanese television program “Inai Inai Ba†(“Peek-a-booâ€) and grasping her hands, her parents tried to encourage her.
On the fourth day of her hospitalization, an examination confirmed that blood was not flowing to her brain. The pupils of Hanano’s eyes were no longer responding. The doctor explained to the parents in detail that their little girl was brain dead.
Later, a coordinator for transplants asked the parents if they intended to offer little Hanano’s organs up for transplants.
As parents, the Oyamas came face to face with one of the worst nightmares anyone who has loved a child can imagine: the brain death of their little girl and then having to decide whether to let her go in order to donate her organs so that other children could live.
The daughter of the Japanese couple living in Singapore, 18-month-old Hanano Oyama was a bright girl who liked singing and dancing.
On the evening of June 29, the family was relaxing poolside at their home. At some point though, the mother noticed that little Hanano was missing. After a frantic search, she found her floating in the pool.
The distraught mother called out her name and immediately began applying CPR, but to no avail. Little Hanano’s lips began turning purple and she never regained consciousness.
Soon after, she was rushed to a hospital by ambulance, where after about 40 minutes of trying to resuscitate the girl, doctors managed to restart her heart. However, her brain had been severely damaged. “Is she brain dead?†her father, Norimichi Oyama, asked the doctor. The doctor nodded, sadly.
But the color in her face remained flush, and the rest of her body was functioning normally. Playing songs from her favorite Japanese television program “Inai Inai Ba†(“Peek-a-booâ€) and grasping her hands, her parents tried to encourage her.
On the fourth day of her hospitalization, an examination confirmed that blood was not flowing to her brain. The pupils of Hanano’s eyes were no longer responding. The doctor explained to the parents in detail that their little girl was brain dead.
Later, a coordinator for transplants asked the parents if they intended to offer little Hanano’s organs up for transplants.
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