SINGAPORE - A 22-year-old woman from Derry, Northern Ireland, who collapsed after a trek up a volcano in Indonesia, will be flown back to Singapore to have her organs donated here.
Lisa Orsi, who had been working as a physiotherapist at Bright Vision Hospital at Lorong Napiri in Hougang for the past year, was on a holiday with friends in Indonesia last week when tragedy struck.
She had fallen ill a few hours after a trip up a volcano, and subsequently collapsed in the bedroom after taking a shower. The BBC reported that she was suffering from breathing difficulties.
Her friends rushed her to a local hospital, where she was hooked up to a life support machine, but her condition worsened rapidly. She was said to have suffered severe brain damage and is currently in a coma.
The Belfast Telegraph newspaper reported that Ms Orsi's parents Dennis and Sharon, who had flown to Indonesia to be by her side, have granted permission for their daughter to be transported to Singapore where her organs will be donated for transplants.
They had accepted that Ms Orsi had little hope of recovering.
Ms Orsi's uncle, Peter, told the paper: "We had hoped for a miracle, but sadly it was not to be. But Lisa herself will create miracles for six other people through her organ donations."
He added that Ms Orsi would be transported by air ambulance to Bright Vision Hospital over the next day or so.
"The hospital has arranged this, it is their way of looking after her and they will arrange for her organs to be donated as Lisa had wished," he was quoted as saying.
"Lisa was so fit and healthy and full of vitality and I think it is beautiful that she will give the gift of life to others."
A popular figure within the Irish community in Singapore, she helped set up a Gaelic sport team, the Singapore Gaelic Lions.
Her teammates had also been busy raising funds to pay for her medical costs, reported the paper. To date, about S$7,000 has been collected.
