Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
Army civilian donates cells to leukemia patient
Han Seoung-sik, civilian contractor at the Army Logistics Command in Daejeon, sits in a hospital bed in Busan, Sept. 24, while donating hematopoietic stem cells to a leukemia patient. / Courtesy of Republic of Korea Army
By Kang Seung-woo
By Kang Seung-woo
A civilian contractor for the Korean Army is gaining respect after donating hematopoietic stem cells to a patient with leukemia.
Han Seoung-sik, who inspects procurement items at the Army Logistics Command in Daejeon, underwent a procedure in Busan last month to donate the cells to a patient, with whom he was not acquainted.
His decision came by chance in 2005 when he found a large number of patients waiting for the cell donation and registered as a donor at the Korea Marrow Donor Program (KMDP).
After 15 years, Han, 39, was informed by the KMDP in July that the organization had found a patient who was a match for a donation from him, and he agreed to without hesitation.
To comply with social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Han fully observed quarantine regulations and underwent additional genetic testing and a medical examination before the cells were extracted.
“Nothing is more important than saving someone's life,” Han said.
“I hope the patient will make a quick recovery and become a hope for others battling leukemia.”
Han is not a stranger to helping those in need.
Recognized as a model employee devoted to life-sharing, he has donated blood on 122 occasions. In addition, he registered in 2010 as an organ donor.
Han is also committed to his job, as evidenced by his more than 100 certificates in many areas, including electricity, electronics and communications, hoping that he will stand out in the military's electron optics division.