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A seven-year-old girl became the first recipient of financial aid yesterday from a new fund set up to help cover the medical bills of children with leukemia.
The stem cell aid fund, which was set up by the Shanghai Red Cross, gave Zuo Fan more than 100,000 yuan (US$12,346) to help pay for her stem cell transplant surgery.
Zuo Jinliang (right) and his wife Li Juan (second from right) receive donations from the Shanghai Red Cross to pay for their daughter's stem cell transplant. The red cross set up a fund yesterday to help children with leukemia.
"Zuo was hospitalized last Friday and is undergoing preparation for the stem cell transplant," said Dr Wang Chun of Shanghai No. 1 People's Hospital. "The transplant is scheduled for the middle of next month. We are very confident about her recovery."
Zuo was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago. Earlier this month, two potential stem cell donors were found through the Shanghai Umbilical Cord Blood Bank. But her family can't afford the expensive operation. Zuo's father is a laid-off mechanic and her mother works as a domestic helper.
"We are so grateful for the donation to save my daughter's life. We will never forget it," said her teary-eyed mother, Li Juan.
Officials from the Shanghai Umbilical Cord Blood Bank and local residents donated 110,000 yuan (US$13,285) to the family, while the local children's hospitalization aid fund and the Shanghai Charity Fund will cover the rest of her medical bills.
About 40,000 people a year are diagnosed with leukemia across the country, more than 50 percent of whom are children. Stem cell transplants are the most effective treatment for the disease.
With the development of the Shanghai Stem Cell Donor Bank, many people have found matching donors, but the cost of a transplant can exceed 300,000 yuan (US$36,231).
(Shanghai Daily September 21, 2005)
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