A Chinese boy who made headlines after giving 30 vials of blood to see if he was a bone marrow match with his mother who has leukaemia, has successfully undergone transplant surgery, his father has said.
Cao Xuanyi, a 10-year-old boy from Anhui province in eastern China, endured extensive and painful preparations since March this year, before the operation which was undertaken on Monday.
The boy’s father, Cao Song, 33, posted a video on Douyin asking his son just before the surgery: “Are you afraid or not?” In the video, Xuanyi firmly responds: “No!” and then makes a victory hand gesture.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Xuanyi arrived at the hospital at 7am on the day of the operation and received a final dose of a stem cell mobilisation drug which promotes a massive increase in the number of blood stem cells the body produces.
“I didn’t feel much pain when I took the last shot of the mobilisation drug, because I’m just glad I can save my mother now,” Xuanyi said in the video.
“I don’t feel scared as long as my father is here with me, and the bone marrow extraction will only take about three hours.”
“It’s nothing compared to saving my mother.”
Xuanyi previously made national headlines in China after travelling more than 400 kilometres to Suzhou in March following initial blood tests that found he was the only possible donor match for his mother in their extended family.
‘I owe it to mum’: boy gives 30 vials of blood after travelling 400km
The boy, described by his father as “scared of pain”, bravely consented to have 30 vials of blood taken for more tests to see if he was a definite bone marrow match with his mother.
Further tests revealed Xuanyi was a perfect match, however, transplant surgery had to be postponed after his mother, Cao Meixia, 33, experienced unexpected complications from her cancer.
“He spent almost his entire summer holiday preparing for the bone marrow donation surgery,” his father said.
The father said that in the four days before the surgery, Xuanyi took seven doses of a blood stem cell mobilisation drug which often has serious negative side effects.
“The donor will feel very uncomfortable after taking the mobilisation drug, which causes muscle aches and pains,” father Cao said. “Even adults can find it excruciating because it feels like having ants biting all over the body.”
However, Xuanyi never complained, the father said.
“The first two hours after the injection are difficult because of limb soreness and the dizziness,” Xuanyi said. “But I can endure it to save my mother.”
“I deeply love her, and I am so happy that she is my mother.”
The doctor who performed the transplant surgery, Li Zheng, said that the next stage will focus on rebuilding Xuanyi’s mother’s production of blood cells.
His mother said: “I am very confident that the surgery will be successful this time.”
More from South China Morning Post:
- More ‘monster fish’ on the loose: sightings of alligator gar emerge in 8 Chinese provinces after a pair caught over weekend
- ‘He has a naughty streak’: Chinese man travelling from Europe to Asia on horseback says animal tries to run off with other horses every day
- ‘Fake Americano’ to cope with heatwave: doctors in China warn against using traditional Chinese medicine to create ‘risky’ trendy drink
- Fugitive ‘monster fish’: Chinese city drains entire lake to hunt elusive creature that has razor-sharp teeth as nation watches anxiously
- Savage cat meat trade: gang in China that lures felines with live sparrows in remote-controlled trap arrested, 150 animals rescued
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2022.
