A YOUNG man became the city’s 900th unrelated hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) donor yesterday, marking a major milestone for the local donation program. The stem cell collection took place at The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital.

The donor’s contribution continues a remarkable trend in Shenzhen, which has not only set a new record for total donations but has also achieved its latest 100-donor milestone in just nine months — the fastest interval to date.

Like many volunteers who join the China Marrow Donor Program, which was launched in 2001, the donor, a young man named Wang Zining, had been hoping for the chance to save a life since registering in 2021.

When he received the call that he was a match, he immediately agreed to donate. However, initial excitement soon turned to concern. Worried that his less-regulated lifestyle might disqualify him, he began exercising regularly and improving his diet to ensure he would be able to help.

“I was truly relieved only after the physical exam showed I met all the donation criteria,” Wang said.

Wang’s journey into donation began years earlier, when he happened to pass by a blood drive and noticed a sign calling for Type O blood. He decided to step in and help. It was there staff introduced him to the importance of both blood and stem cell donations. From that moment on, he became a regular blood donor and eventually joined the stem cell registry.

Reflecting on becoming the symbolic 900th donor, Wang remained humble. “No matter what the number is, every single donation is meaningful to the donor and the patient. Every donation represents a hope for life. I just happened to be the 900th,” he said.

Wang also expressed hope that more people would learn about and support donor programs, giving more patients a chance to overcome illness.

In a handwritten letter to the recipient, a teenager diagnosed with leukemia, Wang offered words of encouragement. “I’m honored to provide you this small help out of billions of people in the world. This period must have been very difficult for you, but your perseverance and every effort you make are creating a miracle of life — and you are the protagonist of that miracle.”

Shenzhen’s HSC donation program has grown rapidly. In 2000 the city took the lead nationally in promoting HSC donation, and in 2001 it recorded its first unrelated HSC donation — the first such case in Guangdong Province, according to the Shenzhen Blood Center. In 2018, Liu Zhaolong from Shenzhen became the first volunteer in Guangdong to donate HSCs to an overseas recipient.

According to the center’s statistics, it took nearly a decade to reach the first 100 donations and another 5.5 years to reach 200. The pace has since accelerated: Shenzhen has recorded more than 100 donations each year since 2022 and is expected to record its 100th donation of 2025 by mid‑September.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is currently an effective treatment for conditions such as leukemia, severe thalassemia, aplastic anemia, multiple myeloma, and myelodysplastic syndromes. Sibling match rates are about 25%, while the likelihood of a match from an unrelated donor ranges roughly from 1 in 400 to 1 in 10,000.

(Zhang Yu)