Brave mother needed six months of blood treatment to stave off danger to her own health before making donation. On day of procedure, her husband and two children were at her bedside in support as she helped save someone else’s little boy. — SCMP
A young Chinese mother who donated her bone marrow to save the life of a five-year-old boy has deeply touched people on mainland social media.
Tan Chang, 32, a lawyer from Fuxin in Liaoning province in northeastern China, registered with the China Marrow Donor programme on her son’s second birthday, August 8, 2020, according to a report in The Paper.
In January this year, she received a call telling her a match with a little boy with an undisclosed illness had been found.
Despite feeling nervous about the donation procedure she decided to help him as the boy was almost the same age as her son.
Before she could make the donation, Tan, who suffers from severe anaemia, had to take blood tonic medicine for six months to meet the requirements.
“I’ve been taking iron supplements and focusing on nutrition,” she said.
Once she was ready to donate, Tan underwent five days of injections to prepare her blood for the procedure at a hospital in Shenyang, the provincial capital, on June 30.
Her husband was there with their son and daughter to support her during the procedure.
“The procedure was supposed to take four hours but took six hours. I fainted during the procedure as my veins are not very good, but I overcame it,” Tan said afterwards.
“This boy is around the same age as my son, and perhaps he is a third child in my life.”
Tan also wrote a letter to the boy receiving the transplant: “When I learned that you and my son are around the same age, my heart was deeply concerned about you. Let my hematopoietic stem cells take root and blossom in your body. I wish you healthy growth and the joy of experiencing the beauty of this world.”
Tan’s story has touched many people on mainland social media.
“She is truly an angel!” commented one person.
Her story parallels a 33-year-old mother from Yunnan province in southwestern China, who donated her stem cells to a severely anaemic one-year-old child in February. – South China Morning Post
