A 27-year-old man from Shanxi's Taiyuan, surnamed Zhang, has successfully donated his hematopoietic stem cells to an Australian on April 8.
Zhang signed a consent form on voluntary donation of hematopoietic stem cells when he donated blood last May. He then became a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) donation volunteer. This blood sample was detected with results recorded in the China Marrow Donor Program (CMDP).
His blood sample rose hope for a man in Australia. This 39-year-old man was suffering from leukemia, and his hematopoietic stem cell matched with Zhang's after the first matching. Zhang agreed to donate hematopoietic stem cells to this leukemia sufferer without hesitation.
Zhang donated 225ml of hematopoietic stem cells to CMDP, who has transferred the hematopoietic stem cells to its counterpart in Australia. On April 9, Zhang's stem cell was transplanted to the recipient.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is usually performed for patients with certain cancers of the blood or bone marrow, such as leukemia.
The Shanxi branch of the CMDP was established in 2005. To date, a total of 76,000 volunteers have signed on to be donors, and 112 them have already donated successfully. Zhang is the first volunteer who has donated to the Australian recipient.
