Dad donates organs of son killed in Indonesia - One of the first things R. Subramaniam did when he heard that his son Yagneswaran had died in a road..

Dad donates organs of son killed in Indonesia
By WANI MUTHIAH
wani@thestar.com.my

KLANG: One of the first things R. Subramaniam did when he heard that his son Yagneswaran had died in a road accident in Indonesia was to arrange for the young man’s organs to be harvested.

“My son was healthy and young and I didn’t want his organs to go to waste,” said the 64-year-old retired estate medical officer.

“I spoke to the pathologist who conducted the post-mortem on my son and told her to harvest the organs,” said Subramaniam who recently flew to Sumatra with a friend to claim his son’s remains.

Yagneswaran, 24, a fifth-year Public Services Department medical student at the Andalas University in Padang, died from severe head trauma following a collision involving his motorcycle and another biker on Friday.

In memory: Subramaniam, his wife S.Sabathra Devi, 61, and sons Kumara Devan,31, (left) and Letchumena, 22, mourning their loss at their home in Klang.

Subramaniam said he gave his son’s friends the authority to sign the necessary papers on his behalf for the organ donations.

“We are consoled by the fact that his organs will now give people where he went to study medicine a chance to continue living,” added the father who has two other sons.

Subramaniam said he was touched by the gesture of the university students and administration for holding a memorial service for Yagneswaran before his remains were flown home.

The university also hired a Hindu priest from Bali to carry out the last rites.

Yagneswaran’s remains were cremated at the Klang Simpang Lima Hindu crematorium here at about 5pm on Monday after the funeral service at the family home in Taman Eng Ann here.