Teen attempts suicide to give liver to dying father

[The Minx]

CNN

Story Highlights:

• A 13-year-old Chinese girl tried to commit suicide to save her cancer-stricken father.
• Girl swallowed more than 200 sleeping pills when she learned of father's liver cancer.
• The teen remains in intensive care, drifting in and out of consciousness.

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- A 13-year-old Chinese girl tried to commit suicide because she wanted her family to donate her liver to her cancer-stricken father, state media reported Thursday.

The girl, Chen Jin, swallowed more than 200 sleeping pills after she discovered a medical note in her mother's purse that said her father was dying of liver cancer and had three months left to live, the news agency Xinhua said.

Jin's mother returned home after visiting her husband in the hospital to find the front door locked. The mother climbed in through a back window and found two empty bottles of sleeping pills.

"Mom, I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you any longer," read a note that the teen had left next to her. "Please give my liver to dad and save him after my death."

The incident occurred January 24 in Jiangsu province in east China. The teen was taken to the same hospital as her father, where she remains in intensive care, drifting in and out of consciousness, Xinhua said.

Doctors say that even if she pulls through, she will need surgery for burns she suffered from an electric blanket on her bed when she lost consciousness, the China Daily newspaper said.

According to Chinese media reports, the family -- whose monthly income is about 1,000 yuan ($146) -- has already spent nearly 100,000 yuan ($14,600) in medical expenses since the father was diagnosed with cancer more than a month ago. The mother, who is also in poor health, retired early more than eight years ago.

The woman told China Daily she is now trying to keep her husband from learning of their daughter's desperate act of love.