High school student donates bone marrow

A senior high school student who opted to undergo a bone marrow transplant for the benefit of a 4-year-old leukemia patient, at the cost of preparing for the National University Entrance Examination, known as the Gaokao, has been highly praised by the public, the Beijing Times reports.

On Monday morning, Zhang Wenchi, a third year high school student from Xiangyang, of Central China's Hubei province, underwent surgery to donate bone marrow at the Navy General Hospital of Beijing. Following the procedure, Zhang said to the doctor, "I feel good, please take the stem cells to the toddler as soon as possible".

Last April, Zhang became a blood donor and joined the database of Chinese bone marrow donors on his eighteenth birthday. Six months later, his bone marrow was matched with that of a 4-year-old leukemia patient from among the 1.4 million registered volunteers.

However, Zhang failed the Gaokao last year due to illness, which placed extra importance on this year's examination in June. Zhang has already passed the initial inspection for China Southern Airlines, though the score he achieves during the Gaokao will decide whether he can actually achieve his dream of becoming a pilot.

"Saving a life is more important than sitting the Gaokao, and having the chance to help cure a patient does not allow for hesitation," Zhang said.

After a three hour operation, 50 ml of stem cells collected from Zhang Wenchi's bone marrow was sent to the 4-year-old patient from Fujian Province. The transplant operation proved a success.

Zhang's deed has earned him the respect of netizens nationwide, and he has been christened with the nickname, 'the most beautiful post 90s student'.

Currently, nearly one million patients in China require bone marrow transplants, and around 1.46 million volunteers exist in the China Bone Marrow database.