At around 9 p.m. on January 10th, Mr. Xie, who suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, was rushed to the emergency room of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine by an ambulance. By then, he had already exhibited dilated pupils and difficulty in autonomous breathing. Seeing this, Dr. Ye, the on-duty doctor, made an immediate decision to operate. However, when the blood routine test results came out, the doctor was alarmed: Mr. Xie was RH-negative B-type blood — commonly known as "panda blood."
Outside the emergency room, more than ten family members and friends anxiously awaited news. The hospital informed them that due to the extreme rarity of RH-negative blood, their blood bank did not have any stock. But given Mr. Xie's current condition, if surgery was not performed immediately, his situation would become even more critical.
From this moment on, a race against time began to find the rare blood needed for the operation.
An Emergency Patient Needs "Panda Blood"
Mr. Xie is a businessman in his fifties. On the evening of that day at around 9 p.m., while walking alone on the street, he suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was discovered by a passerby who called an emergency number to send him to the hospital urgently. Dr. Ye, who was on duty that night, stated that upon arrival at the hospital, Mr. Xie had already shown signs of dilated pupils and difficulty in autonomous breathing, leading to the immediate decision to perform surgery. However, after conducting various routine tests, Dr. Ye found out that this patient was actually of the extremely rare RH-negative B-type blood. A search through the blood banks of the Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine revealed no stock of this rare blood type.
Dr. Ye immediately contacted the Jiangsu Blood Center and the blood banks of major hospitals in Nanjing to look for "panda blood." Around 11 p.m., one blood bank responded saying they had found a few hundred milliliters of RH-negative B-type blood. At midnight, the precious plasma was delivered to the outside of the operating room at the Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
However, due to the large amount of blood loss inherent in craniotomy surgeries and concerns about possible arterial rupture causing massive bleeding during the procedure, the several hundred milliliters of blood delivered were insufficient to meet the surgical needs.
At this point, Mr. Xie’s relatives and friends had also arrived at the Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The doctors told them that given Mr. Xie's current condition, a craniotomy must be performed immediately. Despite having only a small amount of blood available, they had to take the risk; otherwise, the consequences would be even worse. After obtaining the consent of the patient's family, the surgery began.
The anxious crowd waiting outside the operating room could not sit idle. They all picked up their phones and called anyone who might be able to help, hoping to use their network to find someone with RH-negative B-type blood. Amidst the hustle and bustle, a friend surnamed Sun suddenly realized that the power of the internet should not be underestimated. Many people have successfully sought help online. Thus, he called his son and asked him to try posting a plea for help on the internet.
Young Zhang dialed the mobile phone number left online. Mr. Sun, who answered the call, was overjoyed beyond expectation. He didn’t think that anyone would actually respond to the online rescue appeal. He immediately told Young Zhang everything and informed him of the hospital and ward where the patient was located.
Students from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications Rush to Donate Blood Overnight
In the dormitory, two roommates who hadn't yet gone to bed also sprang into action, with one of them specifically finding a car. The three young men then drove overnight from Xianlin to the Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
When Young Zhang and his companions arrived at the hospital, it was already past 2 a.m., and the surgery was almost halfway done. Upon arriving outside the operating room, Young Zhang immediately went for a blood type check. The test results showed that Young Zhang's blood type was indeed the RH-negative B-type blood that Mr. Xie needed. This meant that if the surgery required it, Young Zhang's blood could be immediately transfused into Mr. Xie's body. Meanwhile, the surgeons were doing their utmost to control the patient's blood loss. Thanks to their efforts, the patient did not experience massive bleeding, and the plasma temporarily transferred from other blood banks was sufficient.
Although Young Zhang's blood wasn't used, Mr. Xie's relatives and friends were still deeply grateful and expressed their thanks to him. "Coming in the middle of the night just to help others, such actions moved and impressed all of us," said Mr. Sun. However, Young Zhang felt it was nothing significant. "Drawing a tube of blood has no effect on me, but for others, it might save a life. If I didn't do this today, I might feel guilty for the rest of my life."
Dr. Ye introduced that currently, the hematoma in Mr. Xie's brain had been cleared, and his condition had temporarily stabilized. The cause of the bleeding will need further examination after his condition completely stabilizes in about half a month. However, plasma will definitely be indispensable in future treatments. Young Zhang also expressed that if the patient needs it, he is willing to provide the life-saving blood at any time.
At around 3:30 a.m. yesterday, Young Zhang and his classmates returned to school and quickly fell into a deep sleep because they still had to face the final exam that afternoon.
It wasn't until Mr. Sun reached out to the school that Counselor Li, the counselor for the Communication Engineering major, learned that his student had done something good, which made him very proud. "Not seeking fame or profit, it is truly commendable," Counselor Li introduced. Young Zhang has always been a steady and enthusiastic boy, and he is currently serving as the class secretary of the Youth League branch. Counselor Li stated that during the class meeting for off-campus education, he would inform all the classmates about this incident and publicly praise Young Zhang to encourage the students' enthusiasm for helping others.