Qi Yunhe, an ordinary air conditioner installer, after participating in a charity blood donation for the first time in 1997, became addicted to it. After several whole blood donations, he began donating platelets countless times. Whenever someone needed it, as soon as the blood station staff called him, he would immediately come to donate... Over more than ten years, Qi Yunhe has donated nearly 20,000 milliliters of blood. In 2008, he was awarded the National Gold Award for Voluntary Blood Donation Contribution by the National Health Department, the Chinese Red Cross Society, and the General Logistics Department. He is the only one since the establishment of the Chuzhou Central Blood Station and is undoubtedly the "blood king" of Chuzhou.
Our reporter Hu Hao
"Platelet donation is at least 20 times"
When asked how many times Qi Yunhe had donated blood, he smiled and said: "I can't remember clearly, dozens of times, I remember donating platelets at least 20 times." Qi Yunhe showed the reporter several voluntary blood donation certificates. He said that several books were lost due to moving, and sometimes he was "urgently summoned" by the blood station without bringing the book, and later forgot to make up for it. Therefore, he himself didn't know exactly how much blood he had donated.
According to Qi Yunhe's memory, the reporter roughly calculated once. Without counting the amount of blood he directly donated, each platelet donation is equivalent to four 200ml blood donations. More than 20 platelet donations are almost equal to 20,000 milliliters of blood! In 2008, the National Health Department, the Chinese Red Cross Society, and the General Logistics Department awarded him the National Gold Award for Voluntary Blood Donation Contribution, which was the first in Chuzhou.
Qi Yunhe rolled up his sleeves, and the reporter could clearly see that his elbow was full of needle holes. Qi Yunhe told the reporter: "Donating platelets requires inserting needles into both hands simultaneously, and the needles are particularly thick. Since I donate frequently, my elbows have left with many needle holes."
"He treats the blood station as his home"
Qi Yunhe said that when the Chuzhou Central Blood Station was first established, "it was right across from my house," separated by a road. "In 1997, the blood station promoted voluntary blood donation, so I went to try it out, and unexpectedly, I became a regular visitor there!" Qi Yunhe laughed heartily.
He said that during his years of blood donation, he experienced four directors of the blood station, and the staff at the blood station also got very familiar with him. Liu Tao, the director of the Quality Control Department of the Chuzhou Central Blood Station who came with him, said: "Don't look at him being older than me, but we all call him 'Little Qi'. He is our blood station's good friend, and we treat him like family."
Originally, Qi Yunhe was very kind-hearted. Whenever patients urgently needed blood, a single call from the blood station would immediately send him to donate blood. Voluntary blood donation follows the principle of voluntariness, but Qi Yunhe never shirked responsibility. "He always comes whenever we call, treating the blood station as his home," Liu Tao said.
"I'll be back in one or two hours"
However, the reporter learned that during the 13 years Qi Yunhe has been donating blood voluntarily, the first seven years were spent secretly going out to donate without telling his family. His elderly parents still do not know about his blood donation activities.
"At that time, the blood station staff called me, saying the hospital urgently needed platelet donations. I rushed home after work, changed clothes, and went out. Whenever my wife asked where I went, I would say I went to work, and I would be back in one or two hours," Qi Yunhe said. Because donating platelets differs from donating whole blood, it takes one or two hours, and eating is not allowed before the procedure. So every time the family prepared meals, he would leave without eating, and then eat after returning home after the donation.
"I'll be back in one or two hours" thus became Qi Yunhe's fixed excuse every time he went out to donate blood. When his wife later found out the truth, she blamed him for not taking care of his own body, but because Qi Yunhe's health was always good, even without catching a cold, his wife eventually supported his continued donations. "One day, my youngest son also told me that he wanted me to take time to bring him to donate blood, I'm really happy!" Qi Yunhe said. However, since the elderly have more conservative thoughts, in order not to upset them, he temporarily hid this fact from his parents.
"Helping others makes me happy too"
Voluntary blood donation does not provide any compensation. Liu Tao, the director of the Quality Control Department of the Chuzhou Central Blood Station, said that over these many years, Qi Yunhe has never received any compensation, at most just a bag of milk and some cookies, despite his family's financial situation not being affluent.
At the age of over 40, Qi Yunhe currently works as an installer for an air conditioning company, climbing high and low every day, earning only about a thousand yuan a month. His wife works as a cleaner in a hospital, receiving only about 300 yuan a month. They have two sons who need raising, and their family of four has been renting a place in Chuzhou for over a decade, living a very tough life. But these difficulties cannot stop Qi Yunhe's kindness; whenever patients need it, he is always ready.
"Remember one time, it was past ten o'clock at night, the blood station notified me that a patient had been in a car accident and urgently needed blood. At the time, I was working at height outside, but I immediately went to the blood station to donate platelets," Qi Yunhe said. Giving love, no matter how hard or tired, doesn't matter. Although he doesn't know who the recipient is, helping others makes him very happy.
"As long as the country needs, I will give"
Liu Tao, the director of the Quality Control Department of the Chuzhou Central Blood Station, said that donating platelets seems quite frightening to many people because it requires inserting two relatively thick needles into the veins of both hands simultaneously, but such machine-collected platelets have a very high purity, benefiting the patient's body. "If platelets are extracted from the blood of several people, the purity will be much lower, and the patient is also more likely to develop resistance," therefore, there are very few people like Qi Yunhe who persistently donate platelets.
"Actually, I recommend everyone to donate blood voluntarily. After I donated platelets, my body actually became better. I never catch a cold, let alone other serious illnesses. Now, I am over 40 years old, and every time I install air conditioners, young people don't have as good physical strength as me." Regarding Qi Yunhe's situation, Liu Tao said: "This is entirely possible because the platelets in human blood renew every ten days or so. If there are fewer platelet components, the feedback mechanism will stimulate the bone marrow's hematopoietic function, and the bone marrow that has lost its hematopoietic function will also revive, making the body better."
Qi Yunhe said that now a relative in his family has leukemia and only eats food without producing blood. He is currently learning about the procedures and will immediately go to donate blood if needed. Moreover, Qi Yunhe expressed that after his death, he is willing to donate his bone marrow, "As long as the country needs, I will give!" Qi Yunhe told the reporter.