Chen Hui, 21, is a student at Hubei University of Medicine. On April 2, Chen donated his hematopoietic stem cells to save the life of a 17-year-old girl in Chongqing.

Chen and his classmates donated blood and joined the China Marrow Donors Program when they were freshmen. Then, in January of this year, Chen got a phone call from the program, informing him that his marrow had matched that of a girl in Chongqing. They asked if he was still willing to donate.

Chen called his parents for permission. Although they had some doubts about the donation, he explained the procedure to them very patiently and eventually convinced them. “It is my luck to match this girl’s marrow,” Chen explained.

“Most marrow donors today are medical staff, probably because other people tend to misunderstand marrow donation; others are unwilling even to donate blood. But the fact is that donating marrow does no harm to the human body at all,” said Chen. Hematopoietic stem cells usually metabolize in about a week, so donating them in full is not a problem.

Chen has called on more people to join the China Marrow Donors Program in order to help save more lives.