THE parents of a 6-year-old girl who died of leukemia Saturday have donated the girl’s body to Shenzhen University for academic research, according to a Shenzhen Evening News report.

    The girl, Luo Yixiao, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at Shenzhen Children’s Hospital on Sept. 8. She was transferred to the PICU on Nov. 23 after getting a serious infection.

    At around 6 a.m. Saturday, Yixiao passed away at the hospital after suffering multiple organ failure. Her parents decided to donate her body to the Red Cross Society.

    The girl’s organs and corneas couldn’t be used as transplants because of her multiple organ failure, but she became the 286th person to donate her body for academic research to Shenzhen University’s medical school, according to Prof. Wang Jun at the university.

    Wang said Yixiao’s body would be used to teach anatomy at the medical school. “We will organize a memorial ceremony for Yixiao on campus to show our gratitude for her family’s support of our medical research,” he said.

    Yixiao had been hospitalized for 105 days and the medical costs totaled up to 472,557 yuan (US$68,048), but 90 percent of the cost was covered by medical insurance with the family having to pay 47,618 yuan on their own, according to Shenzhen Children’s Hospital.

    (Zhang Yang)