Living organ donor brothers join run to raise funds for charity

Two brothers who stepped up to become living organ donors seven years apart stepped out yesterday for another good cause, running in a 2,000km nationwide relay that aims to raise $1 million for charity.

Mr Lin Hanwei, 36, and Mr Lin Dilun, 34, started their 10km leg in Relay Majulah at 10am yesterday from the East Coast Lagoon Food Village at East Coast Park, before finishing their leg at Marina Barrage. Mr Lin Hanwei clocked about 1hr 20min, and his younger brother 1hr 40min.

The fact that he donated part of his liver to a complete stranger less than six months ago did not slow Mr Lin Hanwei down. In fact, just seven weeks after surgery, he was playing football. He now plays football twice a week, and also runs twice a week. Together with high-intensity interval training sessions, they all helped prepare him for the run.

Mr Lin Dilun, who is between jobs, said he did not train before the run as he was busy preparing for his wedding last week.

"The last 3km or 4km were (completed with) just pure willpower," he said, adding it was worth it to show others that after donating an organ, one can lead a healthy and normal life.

The brothers made the news in July after becoming Singapore's first living donors from the same family to donate to complete strangers.

In 2012, Mr Lin Dilun donated a kidney to then six-year-old Bryan Liu after reading in The New Paper about the boy's daily struggles. Bryan is now a healthy Secondary 2 student.

In May, Mr Lin Hanwei donated a part of his liver to Mr Eddie Tan, whose end-stage liver disease prompted his son to post an appeal on social media. The transplant was a success, and Mr Tan is doing well, said Mr Lin Hanwei, a financial services director.

The brothers hope that through their example, others will be less afraid of living organ donation.

"We want to tell people that living organ donation is not as scary as what they may think," said Mr Lin Hanwei.

Relay Majulah flagged off the first of its 200 runners last Saturday at noon from the Singapore Sports Hub. They are targeting the completion of 2,000km in less than 200 hours, with donations in support of runners going to 67 charities under the President's Challenge.

The relay will end at the live televised President's Star Charity show on Sunday at MediaCorp, and Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin will be running in the final leg.

Mr Tan said: "I am heartened to know of this ground-up initiative Relay Majulah, where 200 participants - people from all walks of life - unite as one and give the best of themselves for others and to build a nation that truly cares."

They include Mr Ezzy Wang, 53, who hand-cycled his 20km segment of the relay on Tuesday at 2pm. He completed it in about 1hr 20min.

Mr Wang, who lost his right leg to a rare ligament cancer in 1999, fell in love with hand-cycling in 2010, and now trains daily for at least 30 minutes.

The relay experience was "very tiring", but he was glad to have completed it.

"When running, other people use their legs, which are stronger than their arms. For me, I have to use my arms, which is tiring over a long distance," said Mr Wang, a sales compliance manager with an insurance company. "But the experience has been worth it - to do my part for charity and pay kindness forward to others."