KOTA KINABALU: After almost five years, it is still difficult for Dr Milena Salgado to accept the death of Sabah Wildlife Rescue Unit veterinarian Dr Diana Angeles Ramirez Saldiva.
"This is hard, Diana was my friend of more than 20 years, she was like my sister. She came here to save lives and spent days and nights to preserve wildlife.
She suffered depression and felt that she could not continue anymore.
"She took her life, but with her life, she also gave lives to many. To me, it is excellent that she continues to save more lives through organ donation," said the Mexican researcher based at Danau Girang Field Centre in Kinabatangan during Queen Elizabeth hospital's Awareness Campaign on organ donation here.
Dr Ramirez Saldiva arrived in August 2010 and had been actively involved in various animal rescue operations in Sabah and several projects including the collaring of elephants, clouded leopards, proboscis monkeys, crocodiles.
The then 36-year-old was among 25 donors who had donated their organs and tissues in Sabah.
For Rizawani Fiona Heng, it was hard to hold back tears when the hospital showed the photo of her then 16-month-old son Fabian Chin Yin Sim on the screen.
"After 15 years, his contribution in donating multiple organs as the youngest organ donor has been recognised.
"As someone who supports organ donation, the decision to allow the hospital to procure his organs was not difficult but after that the process was tough. I could not even talk about it for seven years," she said, suggesting that such commemoration should be done for a month instead of just a week.
Nurse Jassica Ho, 39, had a new lease of life after she got a new kidney.
Ho, who lost her husband to a sudden cardiac-related death, had been on dialysis for 14 years when she suffered from renal disease.
"I also received a kidney from an organ donor and my husband was an organ donor too when he died.
"Donated organs really help people like us and give back our life.
"Before I got the new kidney, I had to do haemodialysis three times every week and I often felt tired after that.
As of June this year, Queen Elizabeth hospital director Dr William Gotulis said there were 515,530 people nationwide who had pledged to become organ donors.
"However, pledgers from Sabah are only at five per cent or about 25,000. And, we have 10,457 patients on the waiting list for multiple organs such as kidneys, livers, hearts and lungs.
"As for the number of organ or tissue donations after death, there are 774 throughout the country with 25 from Sabah since 2000 till now," he said during the launch of the hospital's awareness week here.
The hospital also launched "Tree of Life" at its hospital to commemorate organ and tissue donors in Sabah.