LI XIANGZHU, an alumna of Shenzhen University (SZU), passed away due to brain cancer on May 18 at the age of 33. As per her wishes, her body has been donated to SZU’s Health Science Center for medical research.

The woman signed an organ donation paper in 2008 when she was seriously afflicted by cerebroma. She said she did not want to leave the world with nothing useful left. She thus wished to donate her remains and useful organs to SZU.

Li’s mother told Southern Metropolis Daily that her daughter was diagnosed with Spinal Cord Tumor when she was only in grade 7.

The tumor was located at her thoracic vertebra. In order to remove the tumor, doctors took a total of three vertebrae out of her body.

With efforts, Li was admitted to SZU in 2005 and moved to Shenzhen with her parents from their hometown in Jilin Province. She was a diligent and outstanding student, Li’s mother recalled.

Unfortunately, multiple tumors were found in her brain in 2007.

When Li graduated from SZU in 2009, her hearing had steadily gotten worse and she was not able to take care of herself. This forced Li to finally give up on her plan to study for a master’s degree, said Li’s mother.

In 2014, Li started losing her sight because the hydrocephalus had started to press against Li’s nerves.

“She had been fighting against the disease for over a decade. After she suffered sight and hearing loss, she learned sign language on her own,” said Li’s mother.

Li was transferred to a hospital in Beijing for surgery on her hydrocephalus in July 2014, Li’s mother recalled. From then on, she was in a vegetative state for almost six years.

Although a week has passed since Li’s death, her mother still wakes up every two hours at night.

“I have been doing this for six years to roll her body over every two hours. Now, I am not used to it,” said Li’s mother.

Li’s parents said that in the past Li always urged them to take part in charity activities. They said that they will do more volunteer work to pay back all the kindness they received.

Li and her parents lived an austere life as Li’s parents were both out of work. They rented a home near SZU to take care of her.

After realizing their situation, SZU offered Li’s father a job in the dormitories and employed Li to work as a campus librarian after she graduated.

Thus, Li could benefit from medical insurance and be largely relieved of much of the family’s financial burden.

At the end of the interview with the Daily, Li’s father took out a thank you letter with many names on it. He hoped to convey his special thanks to the kindhearted people.

“They gave our family so much help.”  (Wang Jingli)