ying alone for five and a half hours at a hospital in Shanghai, a graduate student from the Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation, Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) donated his blood stem cell on February 26, 2021.

Yao Delong, who took the donation, is the first marrow donor at SISU and the 517^th in Shanghai.

The donation, also known as Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT), is a procedure that aims to reset the faulty immune systems of people suffering from autoimmune diseases, such as leukemia patients, and save their lives.

With no blood relations, the chances of getting matched are one in ten thousand. China Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) is a non-profit organization under the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), established to support blood stem cell donations, especially in Mainland China. The CMDP has enrolled nearly three million people, and 10,882 cases of successful blood stem cell donations have been made.

Yao was a freshmen when first applied to the CMDP in 2014. He was not informed the match by CMDP stuff until early February, 2021.

“Among those who applied with great love, I was just lucky enough to get a match,” said Yao. He agreed to donate at once, while the CMDP stuff asked for a delayed reply, giving him time to consult with his immediate family.

Yao’s family supported his will. His mother knew donations well for giving blood regularly. His father’s worries were released gradually by Yao’s introduction that the donation wouldn’t affect health.

Yao was sent to the hospital on Feburary 22 by a university vehicle for preparing donation. To increase the number of blood stem cells in bloodstream, he was injected twice a day of a drug called G-CSF during the next four days, and his complete blood count was checked every day.

When Yao changed into his hospital gown, his mother became uneasy. According to Yao, when it came to signing the risk notification letter, his mother didn’t expect the donation to be so formal.

Yao received an anonymous card from someone who seemed to be the donation receiver. It writes, “The pain of illness has brought a stinging blow to our family, but your presence has given us hope. We will hold on until we defeat the disease.” Yao only knew that the writer is a mother in her thirties, as direct contact between donors and patients is not allowed by confidentiality policies.

The donation which lasted from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. went smoothly. Owing to the hospital’s epidemic prevention requirements, Yao donated without any companions. His blood was removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that collected only the blood stem cells. The vast majority of the blood is returned to his body through a needle in the other arm. In his case, the blood loss is about 193cc, the equivalent of blood donation.

Yao said the donation wasn’t as painful as blood giving. He said, “I felt like I had been chosen by fate, like heroes in animation, to accomplish the glorious mission.”

Yao said he hopes to do more for the CMDP. Before he was discharged by the hospital, he had been busy liaising with the RCSC to plan volunteer activities.

SISU awarded Yao with the title of “Outstanding Student of the University” and the Medal of SISU Outstanding Youth to promote the volunteerism and goodwill.