Orla Wates, who was about to start university in the UK, came off a bike in northern Vietnam and died of her injuries on Thursday at Hanoi’s Viet Duc Friendship Hospital
A British teenager has died following a motorbike crash in Vietnam.
Orla Wates, 19, was rushed to hospital following the accident during her gap year in the country, but doctors were unable to save the woman. Orla, whose father is a director of £2.4billion building firm Wates, was travelling on the Ha Giang Loop, a mountain road, when the crash happened.
It is believed her organs have been donated for transplants, saving the lives of five critically ill Vietnamese patients. The teen’s parents, Andy and Henrietta Wates, spoke of their grief following Thursday’s tragedy. Mr Wates, understood to be from Surrey, said: “Orla was beautiful, independent and very funny, with a sharp wit. She loved to look good and lived life to the full.”
The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but it is understood that Orla was riding pillion on the back of a motorcycle when the driver lost control.
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Mrs Wates told of making the decision to allow her organs to be used to help other patients at Hà Nội’s Việt Đức Friendship Hospital. She told Viet Nam News: “We would like to thank Dr Trịnh Văn Đồng 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 a director of the Wates building firm and chairman of the Wates Family Enterprise Trust, said: “Vietnam was a country she loved, so to give back to Vietnam is very important to us.” His daughter was soon due to start a degree course at Durham University, and had enjoyed a long gap-year trip in Vietnam. The teenager’s mum continued: “She had the best time here and she was loving every minute of it.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail, a representative from the Việt Đức Friendship Hospital added: “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 Việt Nam. One journey has come to an end, but her life continues quietly and resiliently in others who have been given a second chance.”
Orla’s liver, two kidneys and two corneas were transplanted to patients at the hospital, which is the largest surgical centre of Vietnam. Founded in 2011, the facility has more than 500 beds and, with 18 surgery rooms, it is able to perform over 800 open-heart operations annually.
