Five people donated stem cells today as Shanghai achieved 800 successful donations.
The five donors included a university student, a college teacher, a policeman and two company workers. The stem cells collected on the day will be donated to patients for transplant.
Since its launch in 1996, Shanghai's stem cell donor bank has had over 190,000 registered donors. Among the 800 donations, stem cells of 23 donors have saved overseas patients, including those in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, according to the Shanghai Branch of the Red Cross Society of China.
Zhu Tong, a young female employee at a local IT company and the 800th donor, said she registered to be part of the stem cell donor bank in 2020 while donating blood at the community. She was informed last November that she was a match for a patient and decided to donate immediately.
"I am a member of the Blue Sky Rescue Team and have participated in training and service for volunteer tasks like serving at marathons," she said. "So I did not hesitate when informed that I could help a patient with my stem cell. I am glad to help others."
Stem cells can treat blood diseases like leukemia, various immune deficiency disorders and most enzyme deficiency diseases.
In Shanghai, 19 hospitals can carry out stem cell transplant and four hospitals are entitled to conduct stem cell donation.
Last year, 98 people completed stem cell donation, setting the highest yearly record in history.
Editor: Liu Qi
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