After waiting for 12 years and crossing 1,000 kilometers, the donated blood stem cells from HU Xinkai “connected” this Laboratory technician at Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) of the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC with a leukemia patient at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou.
On the morning of August 2, after mobilization and collection of peripheral blood stem cells in the Department of Hematology of the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, HU Xinkai, who just celebrated his 40th birthday, successfully donated 270ml of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), and this “seeds of life” were immediately transported to the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou to save a leukemia patient who was waiting for a life-saving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) there.
On behalf of the hospital, LIU Lianxin, Secretary of the Party Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC and other hospital leaders sent flowers and condolence money in person to thank HU for his righteous act of helping others.
58 blood donations without repayment, love passes on
Over the past 20 years, HU has donated blood 58 times. He has been awarded "the National Blood Donation Award" many times, and in 2015, he was awarded the "Pioneer in Hefei”."
“I started to donate blood since June 7, 2004, and have been donating blood for 17 years.” HU said that blood donation is a public welfare and it feels good to help others.
After 12 years of waiting, he sent the “seeds of life” from thousands of miles away
During a blood donation in May 2009, a staff member at a blood collection station asked HU if he would like to join the China Marrow Donor Program as a blood stem cells donor. He immediately agreed and left a blood sample.
“Matching also takes the chance. For the past 12 years since I left the blood sample, no one had contacted me. So when I got a call from the Anhui Red Cross on April 20 this year, I immediately agreed, thinking that I could save a person.”
On July 28, HU was hospitalized to prepare for the donation, including mobilizer injections, blood tests, etc. On the morning of August 2, he started the collection of blood stem cells in a special ward for blood stem cell collection.
Finally, HU Xinkai successfully donated 270 ml blood stem cells. He said excitedly, “From the day I got the call, I was looking forward to this day, because the blood stem cells collected from my body can save the life of another person, which is why I started to became a donor.”
Every blood stem cell donation is a relay of life
HU Xinkai said that donating blood stem cells is to mobilize blood stem cells from bone marrow to peripheral blood by subcutaneous injection of mobilizer, and the whole blood is collected from arm veins. Such a collection process is not painful and has little effect on health. He calls on more people to join the donors of the China Marrow Donor Program to bring hope to more patients.
The blood stem cells in the human body have a strong regenerative capacity.
After blood loss or blood stem cell donation, the bone marrow can be
stimulated to accelerate blood production, and within 1-2 weeks, various blood cells in the blood can be restored to their original levels. Therefore, blood stem cell donation will not harm the health of the donor.
Before HU Xinkai, the first employee of the USTC First Affiliated Hospital, CHENG Cui, donated blood stem cells to save a patient in Guangzhou in August 2015.
On November 14, 2016, WANG Wenjie, Anhui Province's 100th blood stem cell donor, successfully completed blood stem cell collection in the USTC First Affiliated Hospital, which was used to save a leukemia patient in Tianjin.
