Girl's suicide bid 'to give father liver'

A 13-year-old girl is fighting for her life in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, 10 days after trying to kill herself in a naive attempt to donate her liver to her dying father.

Chen Jing swallowed 200 sleeping pills on January 23 after visiting her father, a terminally ill liver-cancer patient, at Wuxi People's Hospital. She left a suicide note for her mother, saying she was sorry she could not be with her any longer, and 'please transplant my liver into the body of my papa. Save Papa'.

The girl's mother, Ms Cui, discovered the note when she returned home after spending a night at the hospital. Doctors said the girl, who was admitted to the same hospital, was deeply devoted to her father.

They said the girl came up with the idea after doing some research on the internet and deciding that swallowing sleeping pills would not damage her liver. She had told her mother not to worry about her father because she had 'an idea to save Papa', but her mother did not attach any importance to the statement at the time.

However, Chen Jing had no idea that the family, which lives on Ms Cui's 1,000 yuan (HK$1,135) monthly pension, had given up on treatment a long time ago because they could not afford it and because the cancer had spread, making a transplant pointless. The girl was also unaware that organ donors need to be tested first to establish compatibility with the recipient.

Chen Jing regained consciousness five days after her suicide bid and has undergone dialysis treatment, but her heart has stopped twice since, according to her doctors. She is still in critical condition.