Mother keeps promise to late daughter via hair donation

A 42-year-old police officer has been regularly donating her hair to make wigs for children undergoing cancer treatment, fulfilling a promise she made to her daughter, who died in 2023.

Sgt. Lee Hyeon-ju of the Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency first learned about hair donations for children with cancer and decided to join in with her then-9-year-old daughter, Song Ji-yun.

Lee donated 37 centimeters of her hair on Aug. 11, 2021, to mark her daughter’s birthday.

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Ji-yun’s hair was too short to donate at the time, so she promised to join her mother the next time.

But two years later, Ji-yun suffered an acute subdural hemorrhage on June 30, 2023, and died shortly afterward.

Despite her grief, Lee continued donating her hair in memory of her daughter and to keep the promise they had made.

She donated 33 centimeters in September 2023 and spent the next several years growing it out again before donating another 33 centimeters on Aug. 3 this year.

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“It would have been even more meaningful if I could have made the donation with my daughter, but I’m sure she would be happy to see me keeping the promise we made,” Lee told local media.

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“I just hope that children undergoing cancer treatment and their parents will not have to endure the kind of pain I did, and that the children will recover and live happily with their families.”

Having donated more than 1 meter of hair in total, Lee said she plans to continue until the cumulative length of her donations reaches her height of 158 centimeters. /dl