Orla Wates, 19, had been preparing to start a degree at Durham University when she tragically died on April 2 after a motorbike accident in northern Vietnam
A British teenager has tragically died following a motorbike accident in northern Vietnam.
Orla Wates, from London, was travelling on the Ha Giang Loop during her gap year before starting a degree at Durham University when the accident happened. The 19-year-old suffered extensive injuries after coming off a motorbike and being struck by an oncoming vehicle, and was taken to Viet Duc Friendship Hospital in Hanoi, where she died last Thursday.
“Orla was beautiful, independent and very funny, with a sharp wit,” her mother, Henrietta Wates, told Viet Nam News. “She loved to look good and lived life to the full.”
Her parents, Andrew and Henrietta, have allowed her organs to be donated to help other patients at the hospital, the outlet reports.
Mrs Wates added: “We would like to thank Dr Trinh Van Dong and the ICU team at the hospital who cared for Orla. At this extremely difficult time for our family, we chose to donate Orla’s organs, as we believe that if there were a way to give opportunity to others, this is what Orla would have wanted. Knowing that she is living on through them brings us great comfort.”
Mr Wates, who is the director of the Wates building firm and chairman of the Wates Family Enterprise Trust, said the family wanted to give back to Vietnam following his daughter’s tragic death.
He wrote on Viet Duc Friendship Hospital’s Facebook page: “Viet Nam was a country she loved, so to give back to Viet Nam is very important to us.”
A representative from the hospital told Viet Nam News: “In the face of profound grief, her family made a deeply compassionate decision that transcended nationality and race – to donate her organs, giving others a chance at life.
“The act has moved many, as her gift now offers hope to patients suffering from organ failure in Viet Nam. One journey has come to an end, but her life continues quietly and resiliently in others who have been given a second chance.”
In recognition of her parents’ decision, Vietnam’s health minister wrote a letter offering his heartfelt condolences and expressing sincere gratitude.
