46-Year-Old Woman's Organ Donation Saves Five Lives
A 46-year-old Trang woman who suffered fatal head injuries in a motorcycle accident became southern Thailand's first single donor to provide five usable organs, potentially saving five patients awaiting transplants.
A 46-year-old woman from Trang Province has become the first organ donor in southern Thailand to provide five usable organs from a single donation, potentially saving the lives of five patients awaiting transplants. Medical staff at Trang Hospital removed the organs—two kidneys, two eyes, and one heart valve across three organ types—and transported them in three containers to Hat Yai Airport in Songkhla Province on the evening of September 10, 2025.
Suchada Saelim, known as "Aey," suffered severe head injuries in a motorcycle accident on September 8 when a 16-year-old rider struck her while she was turning into her home after buying food for her mother, whom she cared for. Doctors informed her family that her brain damage was catastrophic and irreversible. After discovering she had previously registered as an organ donor with the Thai Red Cross, her family decided to honor her wishes.
Her brother, Piyapong Saelim, 45, revealed the family was unaware of her organ donor registration until finding her donor card at home after the accident. He expressed pride that her decision to donate would help five patients, noting she was healthy, did not smoke or drink, and lived a simple life. One eye was sent to Songkhla Province for immediate surgery, while the remaining organs were airlifted to Bangkok for transplant procedures. The family will hold a merit-making ceremony on September 13, 2025, and a cremation ceremony on September 17, 2025, at Kuan Wisaet Temple in Trang Province.
