(Photo/Sina Weibo of Li Siqi)

A 26-year-old Chinese student in the U.S. has touched many hearts back in China and around the world with her plea for people to register as bone marrow donors.

The girl, Li Siqi, was studying at a school in New Jersey when she was diagnosed with leukemia – the probability for which is equal to that of getting struck by lightening, as she joked in her Sina Weibo. Unlike other Weibo posts by patients seeking help, Li’s words were filled with jokes and emojis, as she shared that her first reaction after receiving the diagnosis was whether or not she should finish her examinations. Li also joked that her shaved head looked like a kiwi.

(Photo of Li Siqi/Sina Weibo)

After specifically requesting no donations, Li instead called on people to register as a bone marrow donors on Dkms.org, a New York-based international non-profit organization that provides assistance to blood cancer patients around the world.

“It only requires a little bit of your saliva ... If you happen to be a perfect match for me or others, you will have a tiny bit of blood drawn with your approval. Only a tiny bit. The transplantation of peripheral blood stem cells minimizes the pain for donors. It's not nearly as horrible as drawing bone marrow blood,” Li wrote.

The encouraging post soon went viral, as many overseas Chinese in the U.S. responded by registering on Dkms.org, per Li's appeal. On Sina Weibo, online discussions about the campagin had received 720,000 views as of press time. Many netizens even uploaded their registration letters from Dkms.org, along with wishes for Li to get well soon.

Some also wrote that donors based in the Chinese mainland could register with China Marrow Donor Program to offer the same help. 

(Combined photos of netizens' posts about their registration at Dkms.org)