Woman's 2 sons die but give gift of sight

In the past seven years, both sons of Bi Yu, 47, died of progressive muscular dystrophy, but their corneas brought the gift of sight to people in need.

Bi, from Heilongjiang province, spent more than 23 years taking care of her two sons — Wang Jiabo and Wang Weikang. Jiabao was born in 1996 in Zhaodong, a county-level city in Heilongjiang province. He was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of 3.

Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that lead to progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass.

"The doctors told me there is no effective treatment for the disease," Bi said. "I decided to give Jiabo a better and happier life, so we moved to Daqing, a much larger place than our small village."

In 2005, her second son, Weikang, was born. Three years later he too was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy.

When Jiabao at the age of 13 told his mother that he wanted to donate his corneas after he died, Bi was strongly opposed.

"At that time, I knew little about cornea donations," she said. "He told me a true story he had heard on a TV program about a 3-year-old girl donating her corneas. He said a cornea donation is meaningful both to the donor and the receiver."

Bi spent nearly a year learning about cornea donation in different ways — for example, through the local Red Cross Society.

"I finally agreed when I found the words Jiabao posted on his social platform: "It is better to leave light in the world than to turn to ashes."

Bi said she had come to believe that the donation "could keep part of my son alive". So, when Jiabao died in January 2015, Bi followed through on his desire and donated his corneas, which have helped visually impaired people to see.

Influenced by his elder brother, Weikang signed a cornea donation form in 2018. The boys' mother, Bi, also registered to become body donor for medical research.

On Feb 9, Weikang died at the age of 17, and his corneas brought the gift of sight to two other people.

"They left their corneas behind, and I believe the recipients will use them to enjoy the wonderful world," Bi said.

Contact the writer at zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn