He Dingqian is a 2021 Master student in applied chemistry at the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology of Tianjin University. This year’s New Year Holiday , he sent a “warm” New Year present, that is 470 mL of hematopoietic stem cell suspension. He is the 338th in Tianjin, and the 17th hematopoietic stem cell donor in our university. Let us learn more about the youth man at Tianjin University who wishes to “pass on life.”
After 6 years, the wish finally comes true
He Dingqian, a second-year graduate student, has spent nearly 6 years at Tianjin University. As early as 2017 undergraduate enrollment, he joined the China Marrow Donor Program. However, this starting point stems from a “warm-hearted misunderstanding”.
At that time, he always looked forward to an opportunity to donate blood, but when he arrived at the scene, he found that it was the collection of hematopoietic stem cells.. Looking at a small bottle of blood sample, and having understood the significance of stocking from the detailed introduction of the staff, he decided to join the “reserve force” of hematopoietic stem cell donors and obtained the honorary certificate of storage.
As time goes by slowly, his desire to “pass on life” became stronger. He paid close attention to the cases of successful donation of hematopoietic stem cells, admired the senior students who had realized their dreams and participated in voluntary blood donation many times in several years. Finally, he received the phone call that carried the hope of life in September 2022.
On that day, He Dingqian was doing an experiment. After further communication, his memories of donation was evoked. With the well-known saying “It is not a gentleman to leave someone in the lurch and it is not a real man to see what is right and not to do it” in his mind, he realized that his desire to pass on life finally come true.
His family also supported his will of donation. After several steps such as high-resolution matching, and physical examination, He Dingqian was admitted to the hospital to make some preparations for an official donation at the end of 2022.
Successful Donation
Having learned about the specific arrangements after admission, he also had some concerns about the discomfort caused by the mobilizer injection. However, what he didn’t expect was that the biggest “test” was the adjustment of schedule. Compared with campus life, the meal time in hospital was earlier. He was accustomed to having his first class at 8:30 a.m. at school, while the breakfast needed to be advanced to 6 a.m. during the hospitalization.
What about the experience of donating blood stem cells? He Dingqian answered, “I was asleep.” During the collection process for several hours, Red Cross staff and hospital medical staff have been with him, giving him a full sense of safety.
Since the donation, the wounds on both elbows have almost healed, leaving only an itchy feeling and a slightly different skin color. It was the two small “medals” that allowed He Dingqian to fulfill his hope of “passing on life”. “Now I have a full set of certificates,” he said, can’t helping to show his pride and satisfaction of helping others.
From receiving the successful matching call in September to completing the donation in January, He Dingqian wants to convey his sincere appreciation to a lot of people, among which, he especially wants to say “thanks” to his supervisor Professor Zhang Bao. When going out for high-resolution matching and physical examinations, Professor Zhang Bao actively relieved his anxiety caused by the suspension of the experimental progress. Moreover, he had told He Dingqian more than once to rest more and put his health first so as to prepare for the official donation. In the absence of his family, his supervisor was the strongest support on the way to achieving his aspiration of “passing on life”.
it is also the Choice of Tianjin University to Pass on Life
The desire to “pass on life” prompted He Dingqian to complete the donation without hesitation, and when further talking about why there would be such a desire, his eyes flashed. “If someone else received a call from a successful initial match, what would they do? I think everyone at Tianjin University would have made the same choice as me,” he said.
He told us that his undergraduate roommates Guo Hongqiang was enrolled to be a donator with him at the same time. Guo Hongqiang once firmly answered in a return call that he was still willing to donate, and Guo Pei was also resolutely enrolled as a selected student in Guangxi Province and has been working at the grassroots level for more than a year at the crossroads of life and career choices. In the 6 years of Tianjin University, it was the teachers and students around him who passed on the spirit of helping others with love and dedication to him, and now he also wanted to pass on this spirit to others.
Although the donation follows the “double-blind” principle and He Dingqian and the recipient do not know each other’s identity, there seems to be a connection between them since the donor now lives in Sichuan province, He Dingqian’s hometown. Among the sea of crowds, he came to study in Tianjin from Sichuan, and the wonderful fate let that bag of hematopoietic stem cells carrying the desire of “delivering life” and “extending life” return to Sichuan from Tianjin. Since then, two strangers are linked with the same blood.
By School of Chemical Engineering and Technology
Editors: Sun Xiaofang, Li Xinyi
