A 67-year-old woman surnamed Xu underwent a cornea transplant surgery in an eye hospital in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, on Monday. The cornea she received was donated by Qu Zhigang, a retired doctor about her age.

Born in Shanghai in 1957, Qu used to work at a hospital in Qinghai province. He was responsible for medical device research. After his retirement, he returned to Shanghai, where he volunteered to repair medical devices for some hospitals.

In 2014, Qu was found to be suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer during a physical examination. He later decided to donate his body and organs, a move supported by his family.

After fighting the disease for eight years, the 65-year-old died in the early morning on Sunday. "It would be comforting for us if the corneas could be given as soon as possible," Qu's wife said.

The first recipient was Xu, who comes from a rural farming family. Given that she would not have been able to afford the cost of the cornea transplant, the hospital applied for a public fund for her. The operation, which lasted nearly three hours, went very well.

According to the doctor, Qu's other cornea will be transplanted to another patient soon.