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Doctor repeatedly gives the precious gift of life
Print Edition
DOCTOR Yong June Kong has experienced double happiness. Just last week his baby daughter was born and at the same time he won a Magnolia Silver Award, a prestigious honor for foreigners in Shanghai.
“My daughter is a wonderful blessing while the Magnolia Award is recognition of my good deeds and hard work,” says the 37-year-old Malaysian doctor at Shanghai East Hospital.
Yong is known for his donations of blood and platelets. His stem cells saved the life of an Anhui boy with leukemia. He is also praised for his patience and kind attitude toward patients, hard work and pursuit of professional improvement.
His efforts have not gone unnoticed. Last October, he was mentioned by President Xi Jinping during a China-Malaysia economic forum as an example of the friendship between Chinese and Malaysians. Xi even singled out Yong’s willingness to save the Anhui boy.
This occurred one day before Yong’s wedding in Shanghai. He married a local woman who works as a nurse in the same hospital. With a strong determination to become a doctor, Yong came to China in 2001 to study medicine at Tianjin Medical University.
“My grandfather died of a blood disease when I was a child and I saw his suffering at that time,” says Yong, who speaks fluent Mandarin. “Shortly after that I decided to become a doctor and treat people so they won’t be in pain.”
While studying in Tianjin, Yong started donating blood — a routine his family in Malaysia practiced. He also joined China’s bone marrow donor bank in 2004, becoming its first foreign donor.
He enrolled at Shanghai Tongji University for graduate medical studies in 2006 and started his internship at Shanghai East Hospital in 2007. He was recruited by the hospital upon graduation in 2009.
Yong has donated either blood or platelets more than 100 times.
“Many people wonder why I donated so much blood and platelets,” he says. “I just view it as a good deed. Working in a hospital, I see so many patients who need blood or platelet transfusions. Some surgeries are delayed due to a lack of blood. For child patients with cancer, platelets are what they need the most.
“Donating blood doesn’t harm your health. I just want to help people,” he adds. “Some of my friends and colleagues have also become regular donors due to my influence.”
It was in 2012 that a young boy survived because of Yong.
“I was informed in January 2012 that I was a match for a 7-year-old boy with leukemia. I made the donation in April,” he says. “My girlfriend’s mother worried about my health. But eventually I persuaded her that it was fine and that if I didn’t, the boy would die. It’s that simple.”
The boy recovered after the transplant and even attended Yong’s wedding to express his gratitude.
Yong spends most of his time in the hospital to learn from experts and check on patients.
Before getting married, he rented a small apartment near the hospital because he wanted to be called in for emergencies.
“Nurses will call doctors living nearby to the hospital when there are emergencies at night,” he says. “So if I live closest, I will be their top choice. I don’t want to miss any chance to learn and practice.”
In his spare time, Yong practices his surgical skills at home and thinks of better techniques that will benefit patients. For those who require a second surgery, he always thinks about cutting from the original scar, which is good for patients but troublesome and time-consuming for surgeons.
Yong is known as the “prince of cecum surgery” in the hospital because he can perform the operation with only a small incision, making it as minimally invasive as possible. And since minimally invasive surgery is not covered by medical insurance, he studies intensively to improve his skills to help ease the pain of patients and save money.
Because of his excellent skills, other doctors prefer to cooperate with him on complicated surgeries.
Tensions between doctors and patients can often be high in local hospitals. Doctors have insanely busy schedules as there are so many patients to treat.
Patients often have little medical knowledge and refused to follow doctors’ instructions.
“The tough relationship between patients and doctors is mainly caused by poor communication between each other,” he says. “So I spend more time talking to patients and their family about the disease and the treatment to gain their understanding and support. For doctors, we can’t treat every patient. But we should always give support and care. Your smile is what patients need most when they are afraid or feel helpless.”
“Cure sometimes, relieve often, comfort always” is a famous quote from ancient Greek physician Hippocrates and is dear to Yong.
“All doctors should remember this,” he concludes.
A deeper look at the winners
This story is the first of a special series in which Shanghai Daily profiles several recipients of the Magnolia Gold and Silver awards or those who received Honorary Citizenship.
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