Sabah’s oldest organ donor gives gift of sight to two people

KOTA KINABALU: Octogenarian Selvaraju Shanmugam @ SS Raju has become Sabah’s oldest organ donor, says state Health director Datuk Dr Asits Sanna.

He said the family of the 83-year-old sundry shop owner saw to the donation of his corneas to two patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital here.

The donation gave the gift of hope and sight to the recipients, Dr Asits said in a statement posted on the state Health Department Facebook page Friday (Dec 12).

Dr Asits said the donor died of heart-related matters.

He said the family described Raju as a loving husband and father who helped people in need.

In thanking the family, Dr Asits said the previous oldest donor was aged 80 years and two months, while the state’s youngest was a four-month-old child in 2008.

He urged the public to pledge their organs and inform their families of their decision.

Dr Asits said they could make the pledge via MySejahtera.