CHINA: Woman: The Choice to Donate

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CHINA: Woman: The Choice to Donate

    2009-01-04 07:21:59     CRIENGLISH.com (Listen to interview)

Anchor: hello and welcome to another edition of Frontline, the weekly feature story brought to you by China Radio International. I am Yunfeng, Sitting in for Wu Jia.

Liang Xinghe is a fifty year old man living in Yinchuan, the capital city of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. During August 2007, he stayed at home all day searching phone numbers. He could not stop the tears when he finally heard that voice on the line. What he feared most had happened. Here is Yang Lei to tell us more.

"She was trying to avoid me. I couldn't reach her."

That is Liang Xinghe. He was restless at home on August 6, 2007. Three days before, his wife had left their home in Yinchuan for Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi province in northern China. From that day on, he knew of no way to contact her.

"I tried to speak to her by using her boss' phone but she didn't answer."

At this moment of anxiety, a strange woman dropped in on Liang.

"This is a small episode in the whole story. She found another woman, about 30 years old and also from Yinchuan. She asked her to visit me. "

When the 30 year old woman was visiting him, Liang's wife called.

"She said, Xinghe, please give her 2000 yuan."

Liang Xinghe was confused, but obeyed his wife and gave the woman 2000 yuan, or about 300 US dollars. When he tried to speak more with his wife, only a dead line greeted him.

"I kept calling that number, but I couldn't reach her again. I checked the number in the phone company. I tried to find her by calling all the provincial hospitals in Shaanxi, the Number One hospital, the Number Two Hospital and so on. But I could not find her."

Why did Liang Xinghe keep calling hospitals? Where was his wife? And why did she refuse to contact him?

Here is Zhang Jianmin, Liang's wife.

"I was so afraid he would appear. Everything would be ruined if he turned up. I said to him 'you'd better not come. If you come to Xi'an and ruin everything, I will stab you to death."

Why was Liang Xinghe so anxious to find his wife? Why was the wife, who was actually lying on a hospital bed in Xi'an, trying to avoid Liang, her husband? We will come back for more of the story after this break.

"Cardiovascular experts warned that my brother's heart was on the verge of collapse. He might die at any time. They asked me and my brother's wife to decide whether to take the operation or not. If we chose not to, he would definitely die. But if we took a chance, nothing was certain."

Zhang Jianmin's brother was in critical condition and the operation was badly needed. The support of the family was crucial. Zhang was afraid her husband, who was against the transplantation would ruin everything.

She was facing the choice.

Zhang Jianmin’s bother was diagnosed with uremia a year ago, and was in a severe condition now.

"I could not eat anything at all. One of the symptoms was that I could only use one position in bed. Once I tried to relax by lying down or sitting up, I could not breathe. All I could do was to hold the remote controller and watch TV the whole night. It was so uncomfortable. "

The most common way to treat uremia is through dialysis. But the patient has to handle tremendous pain. Here is Zhang Jianguo with a description.

"The problem was the extravasated water. When you have uremia, you cannot urinate. But you have to drink water. To release the extra water in the body there are two choices: to sweat or use dialysis. I didn't want to drink, but I was very thirsty. It was a vicious circle. Once I lost 6.2 kilograms of water in just a single treatment of dialysis."

His sister, Zhang Jianmin, was extremely sad about her bother.

"His chin was much thinner. His two eyes had protruding eyeballs. He looked like he was in hell. I could not bear it, and cried every night when nobody was around. "

When dialysis doesn't help, kidney transplantation is the only way. But it needs a suitable kidney.

The family waited for more than a year with no good news about a new kidney. Zhang Jianguo was getting worse and worse.

"The doctor said to me I would live only for one more month."

The kidney transplantation was the last hope. And family members' kidneys have the best odds to match the patients.

Here is Zhang Jianmin.

"I was together with my elder brother and sister 's daughters. We had a meal in a restaurant. Then we went to an ice cream outlet. It was there I made up my mind and told them I would donate one of my kidneys."

Zhang Jianmin has an elder bother and sister. Zhang remembered that when she was little, her brother would always save the delicious food for her and let her play with his toys. After the parents passed away, the brother became the parent of the family. He would cook the family reunion meals every year, and some of her clothes were presents from him.

And now he needed help.

“How could I forget about him,” Zhang asked herself.

She took the transplantation test without telling anyone. Her kidneys matched her brother's, and she made the decision.

But the brother didn’t agree at first.

"I didn't agree at first. I couldn't accept the proposal. I was not selfish. I could buy one from others. To take the kidney from my own sister? I couldn't do it. If there was anything wrong during or after the operation, I would be guilty for the rest of my life. That was why I said I could not accept her proposal."

Since her brother was against the idea, Zhang Jianmin went back home to seek help from her husband. She told him her idea only to get another denial.

"I didn't agree either. She would not live with her brother for the rest of her life, but she would spend it together with me. Her brother would not shoulder my responsibility. If she donated the kidney, what I would face would be many difficulties, not only psychological ones but also physical ones."

Zhang Jianmin turned to her daughter, hoping she would support her proposal.

"My brother didn't agree. My husband didn't agree either. I had no one else to turn to except for my daughter. I called her and asked her to convince her uncle. I said if she didn't, he would be gone. However, my daughter also turned down my proposal. No one could understand what I felt at that time. I was so upset and cried on the phone with my daughter. She could not agree with me."

Liang Yan is the daughter. She handled the issue more objectively.

"If my mother was very healthy, I would have agreed with the idea. But the reality was my mother was not in good shape at all. She had high blood pressure and her gallbladder was already removed. She was over 50 years old, and it was very likely she would not survive the operation."

Time ticked by. Zhang Jianmin became more worried and her husband and daughter continued to insist she didn't do the operation. At last, a final fight broke out between Zhang and her husband.

"I went home the other day and said to him,' I made up my mind, and I am determined to donate.'"
 

Anchor: The husband and brother both worried about the health of Zhang Jianmin. But without the operation, her brother would not survive. The doctors explained to Zhang Jianguo, the brother, that there should be no big problem for someone to lose one kidney. Once she could have enough nutritious food and rest, her health would return. The brother finally agreed to accept his sister's kidney.

Liang Jianmin, the sister, had to lie to her brother that her husband had agreed. And at the same time she lied to her husband that a suitable kidney had been found. In order to convince the husband, Liang sent a woman home to get 2000 yuan from him.
The brother was transferred to a good hospital in Xi'an. When everything was ready, Liang Jianmin asked the doctor to do the operation.

On August 3, 2007, Zhang Jianmin received the operation.

"I didn't think too much about the consequences at the time. What was in my mind was to save my brother. If he could survive, he could keep his family intact. Although I lost one kidney, my family would not suffer much. The decision was simple."

The operation was very smooth. Here is the doctor, Tian Puxun.

"Everything went smoothly. On the second day, Liang Jianguo's organs went back to normal."

But to Zhang Jianmin's surprise, her husband called the hospital not long after the operation.

"I finally called the right hospital, and heard that the operation was done. I could not bear it and burst into tears."

Anchor:
To her great joy, Liang’s brother's health was improving day by day, and she herself was fine. Liang Jianmin went home. But she didn't expect her life could change even more.

The two quarrelled often as Liang couldn't agree.

"Every time we quarrelled about it she would say the most upsetting words to me,' the kidney was mine, and I have the right to donate it to anyone without your permission.' I was furious every time I heard it. I lost my mind and began smashing things. I was very angry."

"He broke everything. He was so annoying, nattering all the time. I could not live that life any longer."

Liang and Zhang had been married for thirty years. After one big fight, Liang Xinghe decided to moved out of the compound, where her brother Zhang Jianguo lived.

"I felt so uncomfortable to live in the same compound with her brother. I bought this apartment."

The new apartment was 10 minutes walk from brother Zhang's. She kept visiting her brother. Liang Xinghe, however, was not OK with it.

"I said to her that neither her brother and the hospital had the responsibility to take care of her. It was no big deal for the brother to buy some things for her. The problem was that she donated the kidney, half of her life to him, and he just bought small goods in return. "

Liang Xinghe didn't agree with the operation before, and he still could not accept it after. 7 months later, Liang sued the hospital for infringing his right to know, and demanded 200 thousand yuan as spiritual compensation.

"Many people could not understand why I sued the hospital. In my opinion, the hospital didn't have the right to do the operation without getting permission from the patients' family, because the hospital would not take the consequences after the operation."

Liang Xinghe insisted that with big operations like kidney transplantations, the hospital should have informed him beforehand. The hospital should have asked him to countersign the agreement. Liang was angry at the hospital, but his wife was not happy.

"I was disgusted. I thought he was so annoying. He said the lawyer told him that he could win the case and the 200 thousand yuan compensation. But if I were the hospital, I wouldn't give him any money. On what grounds did he demand the 200 thousand yuan? I agreed to donate the kidney to save my brother. I made the decision alone."

Zhang Jianmin tried to convince Liang to withdraw the case, but failed.

"To say it bluntly, I thought it was all about money. After the operation, I lost my job. I needed to eat good food, and I could not do housework any more. All these became his burden."

Family members and friends of Liang tried to persuade him not to take the lawsuit. Even his uncle called, which made Liang Xinghe very depressed. Liang was sad that the only person in the family who supported him was his daughter.

"I said to her, ‘I insisted on the lawsuit because I wanted to safeguard my legitimate right. You had your right to donate your kidney to save your brother. We shouldn't have a problem with this. You should try to understand me.’"

November 24 was Zhang Jianmin's birthday. But this birthday was not happy.

"This birthday was not a birthday at all for any of us. I did not know how many more birthdays I could spend with my wife. I really wanted the media and the experts to give me an explanation."

Liang Xinghe thought he was right. According to the regulations issued by the state in 1992, medical institutions should seek approval from the families of patients before doing any operation or special medical check-up.

"I did not create the agreement myself, which writes very clearly: with agreements of donators and family members. The family members must include the husband. This is certain."

Why didn't the hospital seek Liang's approval and let him sign? Here is Tian Puxun, the doctor, to explain.

"In 2007, the State Council issued new regulations concerning transplantation of human organs. The hospital did thorough medical checkups on Zhang Jianmin, whose kidney matched her brother. She authorized us to do the operation and signed all the documents, including the authorization agreement and the operation agreement. And the hospital's ethics commission also approved the operation. "

Doctor Tian said the hospital acted professionally, and they underwent more than 100 kidney transplantation operations every year. They always followed the specified medical procedures.

The doctor explained, according to new regulations in 2007, that the human organ transplantation does not specify that the agreement from the donator's family members was compulsory.

"I was frustrated. I was only trying to save a patient's life. As a doctor, all I can do is to perform an operation as well as possible within the range of state laws and regulations. I was unable to know if there were any family disputes. I had no idea the husband didn't agree with the case. "

Zhang Jianmin recalled the day when she signed the agreements.

"The doctors asked me when the family members would arrive. I said they would be here tomorrow. Then they asked me to sign the agreements. I signed in the bracket of family member’s approval. The doctors said I should not have signed there. But I didn't know it at all. The fact was that I had signed it anyway, meaning the hospital was not responsible. "

The husband sued the hospital, and the wife insisted the hospital was innocent. The story spread and many supported Zhang for her deeds of saving her brother. But some also supported Liang as they believed the husband had a legitimate right to know. What did the court say?

On Oct. 10, 2008, the People's Court in Xi'an ruled that the hospital was not illegal as Zhang Jianmin had signed all the necessary documents.

Here is the defendant's lawyer, Gao Fengjiang.

"The husband may think his right was neglected. But legitimately speaking, the wife, as an able person, has the right to decide on her own. New regulations have specified that the organ transplantation can be carried out, once the donator agrees in writing. The family's approval was not required."

Earlier regulations in 1992 specify that any operation must be approved by family members. The two laws seem to contradict each other. The legal expert explained that the earlier regulations are more general, specifying all operations, while the new regulations specify the human organ transplantation.

"According to the legal system in China, special laws are superior to general laws. If the two laws contradict each other, the court should apply the special laws first."

However, Liang Xinghe did not agree with the ruling, and decided to appeal.

"I have my right to know. And it is also for the public good. I will stick to the case so that less families will face future problems."

Anchor: With that, we end this week's Frontline. If you have any comments and suggestions, don't hesitate to write to us, either by email or post. The email address is frontline@cri.com.cn.

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I am Yunfeng. Thank you for listening. Until next time, bye for now.

http://english.cri.cn/4026/2009/01/04/1781s439165.htm