A young Nanjing man who formerly served in the army has recently selflessly and bravely donated hematopoietic stem cells to give a chance at a long and healthy life to a child suffering from leukemia almost a thousand kilometres away.
Sun Yi, who lives and works in Yuhuatai District of Nanjing is 176 cm tall and weighs 95 kg. In the habit of dieting each year, in 2021 he has found himself doing exactly the opposite, choosing instead to enhance his nutrition.
Sun had previously received a notice from the Yuhuatai District Red Cross that his blood sample met the donation standards for stem cell transplantation and could save the life of a 6-year-old child with acute myeloid leukemia in Changsha City, capital of Hunan Province.
Sun Yi works with the Gaojiaku Community Management in Tiexinqiao Sub District of Nanjing’s Yuhuatai District. This has been his job since completing his national service in 2012. Throughout this time, he has insisted on donating blood without compensation on six occasions. Sun has also applied to the China Bone Marrow Bank, ready to donate bone marrow at any time.
While donating stem cells does no harm to the human body, the process itself is not to be taken lightly. According to Cancer.org, “If a possible stem cell donor is found to be a good match for a recipient, steps are taken to teach the donor about the transplant process and make sure he or she is making an informed decision”.
As such, at Sun’s home in the Dingfang residential community, his family of five members convened a special meeting to discuss the stem-cell donation. Describing Sun as the “leading pillar” of the family, the final result was unanimous approval.
On 3 March, which also happened to be Sun 30th birthday, he was admitted to Zhongda Hospital in Nanjing, off the city’s Mofanma Lu. Several days of treatment followed, to encourage Sun’s bone marrow to make and release greater quantities of stem cells into the blood. Bone pain and headaches were the side effects of the treatment.
This complete, on 8 March, Sun was given a catheter in each arm. Through one, blood was cycled through a machine to separate stem cells from other blood cells. The former were retained while the rest of the blood was returned to Sun via the catheter in the other arm.
Speaking with Nanjing Daily, after the procedure Sun only felt a little weak. “As a soldier, this little thing can’t trouble me”, he said.
“Now there is a living being that urgently needs my help. I hope I can help him, so that he can see his 16th birthday, 26th birthday, 36th birthday… even his 106th birthday. May he have the opportunity to get to know our prosperous new era and to pass on good deeds.”