A 38-year-old female resident of Hegang, Heilongjiang province, donated hematopoietic stem cells from her bone marrow on Wednesday at the Harbin Institute of Hematological Oncology to save a 22-year-old female patient more than 2,000 kilometers away in Jiangsu province.
 
The donor, whose name is being withheld for privacy reasons, signed up for the China Marrow Donor Program in 2018 after a blood donation.
 
"I had a surgical operation for treating uterine fibroids in the summer of 2013," she said. "During the operation, I required a blood transfusion because of the loss of blood. … So I decided to donate blood to others after I recovered."
   
A 38-year-old female resident of Hegang, Heilongjiang province, donated stem cells from her bone marrow to save a 22-year-old female patient more than 2,000 kilometers away in Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
 
In August, when she received the message that her stem cells matched a patient, she agreed without hesitation to donate.
 
To become stronger and healthier ahead of time, the woman — who weighed less than 50 kilograms — began eating more. She gained nearly 5 kilograms in recent months.
 
"I seldom ate meat, but I tried to eat more fish and shrimp to get more nutrition," she said.
 
She has received great support from her family and others. Before she departed for Harbin, she received a bunch of flowers from her daughters' classmates expressing their respect and blessing.
"Although I have never met the recipient, I can feel the miracle of life and the great medical development that my blood can save a life," she said. "I hope she can get well soon."
 
This is the 122nd bone marrow donation conducted in Heilongjiang. More than 11,000 have been conducted nationwide.
 
Representatives from the Red Cross Society of Heilongjiang province came to the hospital to visit the donor and presented her a certificate of honor.
  A 38-year-old female resident of Hegang, Heilongjiang province, donated stem cells from her bone marrow to save a 22-year-old female patient more than 2,000 kilometers away in Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]