Marie Christie Robert, a 27 year old sales consultant, donated 61% of her liver to beloved teacher, 57-year-old Cheong Siew Hua, when she found out that his liver was failing due to Hepatits B.
Cheong, fondly known as Cikgu Cheong, had been searching for a donor without success. Doctors had previously turned down his sister as a potential donor due to health reasons.
Khung Merng, his 28 year old son, said the family was greatly relieved by Marie’s noble decision.
“She (Marie) is an angel to our family. She made miracles happen. We could hardly believe it when she told us of her intention to become a donor because I don’t even know Marie personally although we went to the same school.”
Marie said that she was motivated to do this because Cikgu Cheong helped her become a better student when she was studying at SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin, in Penampang, Sabah, 14 years ago.
“When I was 13, I always failed Maths but Cikgu Cheong always advised me, gave me extra classes so I could at least pass with a C. When I took the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, I managed to score five As and four Bs.I passed Maths. That is why I will always remember his efforts to teach me Maths.”
Marie, who has a three year old son, remained steadfast in her decision although her husband Chin Chee Ken did as her to reconsider.
She was admitted to the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital in Taiwan on April 26 for pre-operation preparations. The liver transplant was carried out the next day.
She was back at work at the Hap Seng Group’s property division in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah after 39 days.
The further good news is that her employer Hap Seng Group decided to donate money to help Cikgu Cheong pay the balance of his hospital fees after reading about Marie's good deed in a local paper.
Khung Merng said that the family could only come up with RM120,000 whereas the total cost of the procedure was RM690,000.
On the 29 of September, both Marie and Khung Merng were present when the Group presented a cheque to Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation Malaysia to help Cikgu Cheong and family pay the balance of the fees.
“We thank Hap Seng Group for donating this huge amount of money to reduce our financial burden,” said Khung Merng.
“This is a selfless sacrifice by our own colleague, she is part of the (Group’s) family,” said Puan Seri Maimon Arif Patail, director of Hap Seng Consolidated Berhad’s Corporate Social Responsibility.
Source, image credit: The Coverage, The Star
