On February 25, 2020 (6 Esfand 1398), Iran lost one of its brightest young nurses to the fight against disease — Narges Khanalizadeh, remembered as the nation’s first healthcare martyr.
Born on May 20, 1995, in Kalachay, Rudsar County, Gilan Province, Narges grew up with a heart devoted to service. She later became an emergency nurse at Milad Hospital in Lahijan, where she faced the most difficult medical cases with courage and compassion. In her own words, shared on Instagram, she reflected on how her work transformed her:
“The ER at Imam Khomeini Hospital turned me, someone who once couldn’t even look at a dislocated joint, into a person who found those cases the easiest… Believe it or not, I no longer even fear death or the dead.”
Narges’s dedication was not limited to her patients. She often sought the intercession of martyrs, writing their names, performing good deeds in their honour, and distributing care packages to the needy — especially to those in drug rehab centers, whom she felt society often forgot.
Her mother recalls that even after her martyrdom, it was as though Narges had left a plan. Some of her belongings, including her hospital uniform, were placed in a Qaemshahr village where relics of martyrs are displayed, while her personal items — like her ring — were gifted to the Nameless Healers Museum in Tehran, dedicated to medical martyrs.
One of her unfulfilled dreams was to adopt a little girl and name her Baran. Her parents later fulfilled this dream in her memory, adopting a child two years after her passing.
Her final days were marked by both courage and sacrifice. Despite her illness, coughing and shortness of breath, she insisted on completing her last shift at the hospital. Her colleagues begged her to rest, but she replied:
“There are too many patients; they need me.”
She collapsed twice that day, yet returned to duty until she could no longer stand. Soon after, she was admitted to the ICU, intubated, and within days, her soul ascended to the heavens.
Narges Khanalizadeh, unmarried and only 24 years old, was laid to rest in Vadi Cemetery, Chaykhansar Village, Rudsar County. Her legacy continues to inspire, a shining reminder of the selflessness of those who give their lives in the service of others.