Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

A 22-YEAR-OLD man has become Shenzhen’s 700th person, and the country’s 17,001st, to donate hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to an unrelated recipient. This saw Shenzhen reach a new high in HSC donations with “Shenzhen Speed,” as the accumulative number of donors grew from 601 to 700 in just 11 months.

The peripheral blood stem cell collection took place at the Second People’s Hospital of Shenzhen yesterday. The collected HSCs arrived at the recipient’s hospital the same day for transplantation.

The recipient is a 28-year-old leukemia patient, according to a thank-you letter written by the recipient to the donor.

The donor, identified as Xiao-kang, joined the China Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) during college.

It was not the first time for Xiaokang to have a successful match, according to the Shenzhen Blood Center. In May last year, he was matched with a patient, but the donation fell through. The second chance came when Xiaokang received a call from the center again in January this year.

“If it were my family member lying in the hospital bed, I would definitely hope someone would lend a helping hand. Besides, donating HSCs is actually similar to donating blood, which is not harmful to health,” Xiaokang said. “When my physical condition permits, it can save more lives and families. For me, it’s the right thing to do.”

In the thank-you letter, the recipient expressed gratitude for Xiaokang’s kind deed.

“Your kindness is undoubtedly a beam of light in the darkness, illuminating my path forward. It was you who gave me hope and strength, making me believe that one can be reborn,” the letter read.

In 2000, Shenzhen took the lead in the country in promoting HSC donations. Shenzhen recorded the first unrelated HSC donation in the city a year later, which was also the first in Guangdong Province, according to the Shenzhen Blood Center.

On Nov. 20, 2018 Liu Zhaolong, from Shenzhen, became the first volunteer in Guangdong to donate HSCs to a foreign recipient.

Statistics show that it took 9 years and 4 months for Shenzhen to reach the milestone of 100 HSC donations from unrelated donors, with 5 years and 8 months between the 101st and 200th donations, 3 years between the 201st and 300th, 1 year and 7 months between the 301st and 400th, 1 year and 1 month between the 401st and 500th, and 11 months between the 501st and 600th.

In 2022, Shenzhen became the first Chinese city to register 100 HSC donations in just 10 months. Last year, the city also became the only city in China to achieve 100 HSC donations in a single year.