Blood donor determined to keep on giving

TIANJIN — After finishing a physical examination and giving a blood sample, Peter Mecoy rolled up his sleeve, watched the nurse insert a needle into his arm and donated another round of blood.

"I am quite familiar with the process here," said the 58-year-old, who is from Australia.

Mecoy has been donating blood and platelets for nearly 15 years in Tianjin. "I have lived in China for half my life. It is my home and the Chinese are like my brothers and sisters. Helping family is the right thing to do, isn't it?" he said, "Maybe my blood will help mothers giving birth or seniors having surgery. I'm happy I can be of help."

Mecoy first arrived in Tianjin in 1992. He quickly fell in love with the metropolis and its mix of Chinese and Western culture. The modest, friendly and hardworking people he met moved him.

"Chinese people make friends with us first. Friends work together. Our attitudes should not be 'I gain, you lose,' but win-win oriented, seeking ways to move forward together," Mecoy said.

By chance, he saw a leaflet about blood donation in 2008. Shortly after, he donated blood at a mobile donation station for the first time. At first, he donated whole blood semiannually, but after learning that platelets can be donated every two weeks, he became a frequent visitor to the Tianjin Blood Center. "When I first met Peter, I was still just starting out. I was nervous. He told me to relax and his words were encouraging," said Li Mantong, a nurse at the center.

Mecoy has been nicknamed "Panda Man" because his rare blood type is known as "Panda blood" in China. "This makes it even more meaningful to keep donating blood," Mecoy said.

He has made 270 donations, equivalent to 420,000 milliliters of blood in terms of therapeutic volume. That is about 90 times the amount of blood in an adult body and can be used to help a great many people.

After each donation, Mecoy gets a certificate. "I've collected a stack of them. They are proof of my donations and are the most precious gifts," he said.

According to regulations in Tianjin, Mecoy will no longer be able to donate blood once he reaches 60, so he cherishes every chance to donate now. "I want to donate as many times as possible and hope this will encourage more people to volunteer."

Mecoy runs a WeChat group that has dozens of foreign members who want to donate blood. "My friends are from all over the world. It does not matter if their Chinese is good or not," he said. "I will help them as long as they are willing to give blood."

Recently, he won a national award for his blood donations.

"If someone hears my story and becomes a donor to help more people in need, that will make me happy," he said.

Xinhua