Young Tang Xiaoping is a "frequent blood donor". Sitting in the blood donation room, he shows no signs of tension. Photographed by Wang Yadong.
Report by this station's reporter Jin Heng
Editorial Note:
As a megacity with a population of around 20 million, Shanghai shoulders the important task of becoming an Asian medical hub for the whole country. However, as society develops, medical technology advances, and the aging population increases, the average annual medical blood usage in Shanghai has exceeded 420,000 units, creating a significant demand gap.
In the coming years, with the official launch of the city’s new round of medical cost structure "5+3+1" project, blood collection efforts will face even greater challenges. During the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, increasing the amount of blood collected and ensuring clinical blood needs in Shanghai requires the establishment of a fixed voluntary blood donor team of a certain scale, providing a strong and reliable support for clinical blood use.
We need heroes like Tang Xiaoping who donate blood, and we also hope that voluntary blood donation becomes a conscious action of every healthy citizen.
In Minhang District, there is an out-of-town worker named Tang Xiaoping. At less than 30 years old, he not only won the Shanghai Voluntary Blood Donation White Magnolia Award but also received the National Voluntary Blood Donation Contribution Gold Award.
Yesterday, before leaving for Fuzhou to spend the New Year with his family, Tang Xiaoping once again came to the blood donation room to donate platelets. After careful calculation, his number of blood donations in Shanghai has reached 39 times for a total of 42 units, adding to the 37 times he donated at home, making a total of 76 times, with a blood donation volume exceeding 50,000 milliliters.
Blood donation stars don't always look the part.
Last year, there was a temporary shortage of type A blood in the city, which is normal cyclical scarcity, but coincided with a national "blood crisis." During my interview, I learned by chance that Tang Xiaoping is type A blood. In 2009 and 2010, every 28 days, he went to the Meilong Blood Donation Room to donate one unit of platelets (800 milliliters), never stopping, and became a well-known "blood donation star." I was very skeptical; it's easy for someone to do a good deed once, but to persist for so many years requires what kind of perseverance and confidence? What kind of person is this young man in his thirties?
It took a lot of effort to arrange an interview with him. One moment he was on Nanjing Road, the next on Wuzhong Road, then suddenly at Caobao Road, with no fixed time or place. His voice on the phone carried a unique southern accent from Fujian province. He was very patient, speaking softly, "Sorry, I'm always on the move, either on the bus or subway, or walking."
Eventually, we decided to meet at his home. At 5 PM, I waited for Tang Xiaoping at the Lu-Jin intersection. A tall and slim figure approached, looking more mature than his actual age, carrying a large black shoulder bag. "Hello, hello, sorry to keep you waiting," he greeted me, taking off his gloves to shake hands. "Are you Tang Xiaoping?" I rubbed my eyes, finding it hard to believe that on such a cold day, he was only wearing a cotton shirt and thin jacket, yet his hands were warm.
"I'm used to it, even on snowy days I wear this much," Tang Xiaoping laughed, explaining he didn't own a down coat. "Gloves, scarves, thermal underwear are all necessary; cold starts from the feet." Indeed, every day he carries a 20-kilogram backpack, commuting partly by public transport and partly on foot. Upon reaching his destination to work, if he wore too much, wouldn't he sweat profusely?
As Xiao Tang led the way, he pointed to a fitness area in the neighborhood, saying, "I don't like sleeping in. I get up at 6:40 AM and exercise here for half an hour." Describing his lifestyle as "going to bed when the sun sets and rising when it rises" might be an exaggeration, but growing up in a rural area of Fuzhou, Xiao Tang had formed this habit early on.
This so-called home is actually a rented room in an old residential area. After getting married last year, he moved from the employee dormitory to this place. The bed takes up most of the room, with cabinets and dining tables packed tightly together. Tang Xiaoping changed into slippers, pulled out a stool from under the table, and sat solemnly on the bed.
Xiao Tang's job is after-sales maintenance of感应式水龙头(inductive water faucets). In September 2007, he was dispatched by his Fuzhou company to work in Shanghai. Every day, he roams the streets of Shanghai, happily saying, "Our customers include government agencies, courts, universities, restaurants... We interact with people from all walks of life, their level of conversation is high, and I've gained a lot."
Chatting along, he shyly said, "Can I borrow the stool?" Propping himself on the stool, he opened the curtain of the wall cabinet above the door, struggling to take down a suitcase, unlocking it to reveal blood donation certificates, various honor certificates, trophies, medals, and awards, filling the entire box. "Is this really a collection?" Tang Xiaoping somewhat bashfully replied, "Not really, I'm just afraid my wife will see them. She doesn't know about my blood donations yet. I'll gradually tell her, hoping she can understand..."
Lining up 26 blood donation certificates, Tang Xiaoping then pulled out a worn-out notebook from the box. The notebook was filled with dense records detailing each donation since his first one, including the time, location, quantity, total volume, and equivalent "units." He said, if calculated based on 500 milliliters equaling 0.5 kilograms, over 50,000 milliliters of blood donated would weigh over 50 kilograms, equivalent to the weight of an adult.
The box also contained stacks of certificates, trophies, and awards, including national gold awards and the Shanghai Baiyu Lan award... Tang Xiaoping laughed, "I've forgotten how many awards I've received, I guess I've gotten all the ones I should have." "Are these honors important to you?" "Of course, they affirm my contributions."
Repaying a drop of kindness with a flood of gratitude
Where does his determination and confidence come from? Xiao Tang told a story.
It was the summer of 1996. Xiao Tang and his younger brother climbed a lychee tree in front of their house. "That tree was only three or four meters away from our door, very close. We had climbed it many times before, but unexpectedly, something happened that time," Tang Xiaoping said regretfully. Both brothers fell from the tree onto a cobblestone path. His brother's arm was broken, and his own head hit the stone, causing immediate bleeding and unconsciousness.
The hospital issued a critical condition notice, and due to their poor financial situation, they couldn't afford the high medical costs. "I never expected that teachers and classmates from my school would raise money to save me." At that time, the teachers and students from the Mangsha Vocational Middle School where he studied did not abandon him. They pooled enough money to help him struggle back from the brink of death. After seven days and nights, Tang Xiaoping regained consciousness.
"When I was young, my mother left the family, and my father raised us alone. It was the first time so many people cared about me," Tang Xiaoping's eyes were brimming with tears. "If it weren't for the help of those kind-hearted people, there wouldn't be the me of today. It taught me to be grateful and cherish life."
On September 12, 2001, shortly after starting work, during a casual stroll, Tang Xiaoping saw a mobile blood donation vehicle. The lively atmosphere made him feel excited, "Blood donation is harmless to the body and can help others. Isn't this something I can do?" He hurriedly squeezed into the crowd and donated 200 milliliters of blood. Thus, voluntary blood donation became his way of "expressing gratitude." Although the school has been renamed and contact with classmates lost, Tang Xiaoping's love for giving back to society has remained unchanged.
After graduating from vocational school, Tang Xiaoping repaired lathes and learned home appliance repair. In September 2007, he came to Shanghai, "to broaden my horizons and learn more skills." By then, he had already donated blood 37 times in Fuzhou, with a total volume reaching 24,600 milliliters.
The following year, the Wenchuan earthquake occurred, and the details of the disaster deeply troubled Tang Xiaoping. However, his blood donation interval was not until May 15th, "Those few days felt like years." Tang Xiaoping lamented. Due to the high number of people reserving blood donations, it wasn't until May 21st that he finally got the chance to lie on the blood collection chair, watching the clear bag of platelets, he let out a deep sigh of relief.
An ordinary person with lofty aspirations
"Are you a blood donation hero? Do your workplace and family know?" Tang Xiaoping shook his head with a smile, answering, "No, sometimes I take leave, using two or three hours to donate blood, trying not to affect work. Since last year, I've tried to schedule my blood donations on weekends."
When asked about future plans, Tang Xiaoping smiled faintly, his tone softening. Although he holds a mid-level certificate in home appliance repair, he only has a secondary vocational education degree, making it difficult to establish himself in Shanghai. "Take things step by step. With a salary of more than 2,000 yuan, rent takes up one-third of it, but it's considered high in my hometown. Let's save money carefully."
Flipping through a pile of magazines and newspapers like "Health Wealth" and "Hygiene News" on the table, Tang Xiaoping suddenly became cheerful again: "A couple of days ago, I read in the newspaper that someone had reached 150 component blood donations—wow, that's really impressive!" Tang Xiaoping revealed an admiring expression like a fan, shaking his head in disbelief, completely forgetting that he himself was also a "star" having donated dozens of times.
"If only I could reach that many donations." Xiao Tang's eyes sparkled, immersed in his own dream, still consoling himself, "I'm still young, I want to surpass him." As the journalist finished writing the article, he sent a text message saying, "My goal is 200 times, I want to learn from that blood donor."
Perhaps many people haven't noticed that among the top ten reasons for blood donation announced in the city last year, one came from Tang Xiaoping—"Love life, help others, benefit yourself." Love contributions may often be anonymous, but dreams can be bigger and farther-reaching, as the ordinary worker Tang Xiaoping said: "Maybe I won't become a dazzling star in this lifetime, but I must be a hero in voluntary blood donation."