The daughter of a British building magnate has tragically died in a motorbike accident during her gap year.
“Beautiful” and “funny” 19-year-old Orla Wates died of her injuries after she came off a bike in northern Vietnam.
The young Brit, the daughter of a director at the major building firm Wates, was travelling on the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam when the incident occurred.
Orla had been planning to start her degree course at Durham University following her gap year.
After the accident, Orla was rushed to Ha Noi’s Viet Durc Friendship Hospital, but died last Thursday with her parents at her bedside.
According to reports, Orla’s parents, Andy and Henrietta Wates, agreed for Orla’s organs to be donated to other patients at the hospital, potentially saving the lives of five people.
The cause of the accident is unclear, but it is understood that Orla was riding on the back of a motorcycle when the driver lost control. She was thrown to the ground and was run over by an oncoming truck, leading to extensive injuries.
Mr Wates said his daughter was “beautiful, independent and very funny, with a sharp wit”. He said she “loved to look good and lived life to the full”.
Her mum said the family could take comfort in the knowledge Orla’s organs were “living on” after transplants.
She told Viet Nam News: “We would like to thank Dr Trịnh Văn Đồng and the ICU team at the hospital who cared for Orla. At this extremely difficult time for our family, we chose to donate Orla's organs, as we believe that if there were a way to give others the opportunity, this is what Orla would have wanted.
“Knowing that she is living on through them brings us great comfort.”
Mr Wates, a director at the Wates building firm that the Mail reported is worth around £2.4 billion, said Orla “loved” Vietnam and giving back to the country was important to the couple.
A spokesperson for the hospital said Orla’s parents had made a “deeply compassionate decision” that “transcended nationality and race… giving others a chance at life”.
They said: “The act has moved many, as her gift now offers hope to patients suffering from organ failure in Viet Nam.
“One journey has come to an end, but her life continues quietly and resiliently in others who have been given a second chance.”
Her liver, two kidneys and two corneas were transplanted to other patients.
Vietnam’s health minister wrote Orla’s parents a letter of condolence and gratitude.
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