Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

MA JIAZHI, a student from the College of Materials Science and Engineering at Shenzhen University (SZU), recently donated hematopoietic stem cells to help save the life of a young father with a 6-year-old child.

“It is like a magic when knowing that there is a person in the world who has your blood and lives as happily as you,” Ma said during an interview.

Ma has become the 11,115th successful hematopoietic stem cell donor under the China Marrow Donor Program. He donated his stem cells April 14.

Ma learned about hematopoietic stem cell donation when he was donating blood in school and signed an agreement afterwards. His blood type and other related information were then recorded on the China Marrow Donor Program.

On Dec. 9 last year, Ma received a phone call from a volunteer who told Ma that his bone marrow matched that of a young father with leukemia.

At first, Ma hesitated due to safety issues related to the operation and pressure from final exams.

“Doctors told me that for leukemia patients, bone marrow transplantation is their only hope to get cured. The average rate for a successful bone marrow match, however, is around 10 per 100,000 cases. After knowing this, I decided to donate stem cells,” said Ma.

Ma then needed to persuade his parents to support the decision.

“When they first said no, I fully understand as I am their only son. They were just trying to prevent me from experiencing any risks,” Ma said.

Luckily, Ma’s parents finally agreed and felt proud of their son.

By the end of March, doctors suggested that Ma start preparing for the stem cell donation by eating healthy and exercising.

On the night of April 13, Ma went to Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital for the last preparation before the surgery.

Ma is the third student in SZU to donate hematopoietic stem cells, according to a doctor surnamed Zhang with Shenzhen Blood Center.

In a thank you letter to Ma, the young father wrote: “Life is short. I will fight against the disease and hope that I can fly kites with my son when spring comes again.”

It is said that there are at least 4 million people in the country with leukemia. The country each year sees around 40,000 new leukemia patients, half of whom are children.